


MS Gundam Wing: Revolution

by spitandcoffee



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-13 12:31:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 50,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spitandcoffee/pseuds/spitandcoffee
Summary: Book two of this series will start in a few weeks, the only difference being a slight jump forward in time. Be prepared for some changes, but the cast will largely still be the same.





	1. Prologue & Chapter 1

"I'd be very pleased," Releena gracefully offered him the white envelope, "if you'd choose to attend my birthday party." She smiled gently at the mysterious young boy that she had first met on the beach, feeling confident that he would accept the invitation. 'And maybe then we'll become friends,' she thought hopefully.

The approving murmur of the crowd was only just dying down a bit as Heero Yui took the birthday invitation in his hands. With a single smooth gesture he tore it in two, letting the pieces fall to the ground as they heard a soft gasp of shock from Releena.

Releena gazed at him in surprise, "But, why..."

Before either of them could react a figure strode out of the crowd, walking right past where Releena was standing towards where the dark haired boy waited. Slap! She slapped him right across the cheek, her long orange hair flowing around her.

"What in the.. ?" Releena looked at her in shock.

Instead of a standard girl's uniform she wore a boy's one, specially tailored to fit her long thin form. There was a loud murmur from the crowd, both surprise and admiration as the woman looked down at the shorter Heero Yui.

"You should treat a lady with more respect," she said to him coolly.

Releena gazed up at her in honest surprise and real admiration, swiftly recognizing her as the intense young woman who had transferred to the school only a few weeks ago. "Who are you," she murmured to her softly.

She had a surprisingly gentle smile, but her eyes strangely touched by a deep sorrow. "Arisugawa Juri," was the soft answer as she walked away. In seconds Releena found herself surrounded by her friends, Heero Yui having used the distraction to slip away.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution

Part One

The next day, well before their classes started for the day Releena began to quietly ask around about the new transfer student. She quickly put together some information about the mysterious new student, enough to occupy her thoughts until lunch.

From what she heard, it seemed that Arisugawa had been attending the prestigious Ohtori academy up until a few months ago, when a band of colony terrorist had attacked the place. Many of the students and teachers were slain, and some of the stories she heard mentioned that Juri's roommate was among those who had died.

'She must have been still in grieving for her friends when she first arrived here,' Releena thought to herself glumly, sitting in the lunch room among the other students. Juri had held herself apart from other students with her odd dress and cold manner, her rescue of Releena coming as a great surprise. 'Though I wonder why I didn't reach out to her before?' she mused.

There was a small disturbance by the entrance, and Releena looked up from her thoughts to see Juri making her way over to the food counter, collecting her food graciously before turning back to gaze at the crowd. She looked around for a seat a few moments, and without thinking about it Releena shifted to make a bit of space at their table.

"Thank you," Juri said softly as she slid into the opening beside her.

Releena smiled slightly, "The seats tend to fill up very quickly." She was tempted to ask what had held Juri from coming to lunch on time, but hesitated.

"The fencing club has matches later this afternoon," Juri explained softly, "as one of the newer members it was my responsibility to help set up."

One of the other girls down the table gazed at Juri in surprised recognition before she blurted out, "You're the Prince!"

"Prince?" Releena looked over at Juri curiously.

Juri looked down at her plate with a soft sigh. "A nickname that I seem to have acquired," she quietly admitted, "after I won my first few fencing matches here."

"It suits you," Releena murmured, and wondered where that odd idea came from.

A band of white skin on her ring finger was visible as Juri raised a glass, drinking smoothly before putting it back down. "I hope I didn't embarrass you," Juri smiled at Releena slightly, "by slapping that jerk. I just couldn't help myself."

"Oh, no," Releena blushed.

"Good," Juri finished up her meal, neatly stacking her plates.

"When are you going to be competing this afternoon?" the girl who had first identified Juri as 'the Prince' asked her eagerly.

"I'll be in the second set of matches," Juri answered as she rose to go.

Releena even surprised herself when she quietly said, "I'll try to be there."

Standing concealed in another corner of the large and crowded lunch room Heero Yui ate an apple, watching the group talking thoughtfully. He had also been asking some questions about the young woman, but not through the normal student's network, and what he had found out was very interesting, to say the least.

He knew it hadn't been any colony terrorists who had destroyed the woman's school, no matter what the official press releases said. It had been a strike by OZ, probably a attempt to root out a possible source of resistance. There were some odd stories about the school, and strangely the leader of OZ was said to have gone there.

Heero dropped that train of thought, knowing it was mostly irrelevant to the current situation. 'I could have evaded that slap,' he admitted, 'but not without drawing too much attention to myself and what I can really do.' This Arisugawa Juri was clearly quite physically capable, and from what he had been able to lip-read, she was a fencer.

He pushed himself off his position against the wall and made his way towards the exit. 'I think I'll enter the matches this afternoon,' he thought, 'and see how good she really is.'

Time passed slowly in classes, and by the afternoon Arisugawa Juri was almost eager to begin the fencing. She limbered herself up, stretching out dressed in her white fencing uniform. The fencing hall itself was cool, and surprisingly the stands were filled with young men and women.

'Mostly women,' Juri found herself noting.

Sitting near the front row were all the girls from the lunch table, including the young woman whom she had stood up for with that rude young man. 'Releena,' Juri had discovered the girl's name, and how well known she was in the school.

When she had seen the clearly contemptuous way that the boy had torn that invitation apart, Juri had just seen red. Without even thinking about it she had forced her way through the crowd and then struck him across the cheek. She had met his eyes and felt a chill at the deadness in them, the utter lack of any human feeling.

'What does that to a person?' Juri found herself wondering, 'What can kill the soul so completely?' She looked up from her troubling thoughts to gaze at her first opponent, and it didn't even seem a surprise.

Heero Yui met her eyes steadily, "We meet again."

"So we do," Juri quietly agreed.

At the referee's signal Juri slid her protective mask on, as did Heero. "Ready," the referee raised up a hand, then crisply yelled, "Begin!"

With a bright flash of silver their foils met, separated, and then met once again as they gazed at each other intently, searching for any sign of weakness in their opponent. The two figures were like statues, waiting for any opening to strike.

'He's good,' Juri admitted.

Like a shot he moved, their blades tangling up as they stepped in close. "Not bad," Heero admitted, pressing to push her backwards.

Snap!

Heero's blade broke off, the one end flying away from the crowd luckily, but Heero pressed on. Using what was left of his blade he tried to twist Juri's foil right out of her hands, but she stepped back to avoid the maneuver. Swiftly he lunged for her head, trying to drive the sharpened, broken point of his blade towards her face clear guard, but with remarkable speed she turned it aside, then touching him just above the heart.

"Point, Arisugawa! Arisugawa wins," the referee declared.

"Good match," Juri took her helm off, shaking her head to free her long hair before offering him her hand.

Heero looked down at her hand and smiled slightly. He just turned away from her outstretched hand and then walked away silently.

To be continued...


	2. Prologue & Chapter 1

"I'd be very pleased," Releena gracefully offered him the white envelope, "if you'd choose to attend my birthday party." She smiled gently at the mysterious young boy that she had first met on the beach, feeling confident that he would accept the invitation. 'And maybe then we'll become friends,' she thought hopefully.

The approving murmur of the crowd was only just dying down a bit as Heero Yui took the birthday invitation in his hands. With a single smooth gesture he tore it in two, letting the pieces fall to the ground as they heard a soft gasp of shock from Releena.

Releena gazed at him in surprise, "But, why..."

Before either of them could react a figure strode out of the crowd, walking right past where Releena was standing towards where the dark haired boy waited. Slap! She slapped him right across the cheek, her long orange hair flowing around her.

"What in the.. ?" Releena looked at her in shock.

Instead of a standard girl's uniform she wore a boy's one, specially tailored to fit her long thin form. There was a loud murmur from the crowd, both surprise and admiration as the woman looked down at the shorter Heero Yui.

"You should treat a lady with more respect," she said to him coolly.

Releena gazed up at her in honest surprise and real admiration, swiftly recognizing her as the intense young woman who had transferred to the school only a few weeks ago. "Who are you," she murmured to her softly.

She had a surprisingly gentle smile, but her eyes strangely touched by a deep sorrow. "Arisugawa Juri," was the soft answer as she walked away. In seconds Releena found herself surrounded by her friends, Heero Yui having used the distraction to slip away.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Revolution

Part One

The next day, well before their classes started for the day Releena began to quietly ask around about the new transfer student. She quickly put together some information about the mysterious new student, enough to occupy her thoughts until lunch.

From what she heard, it seemed that Arisugawa had been attending the prestigious Ohtori academy up until a few months ago, when a band of colony terrorist had attacked the place. Many of the students and teachers were slain, and some of the stories she heard mentioned that Juri's roommate was among those who had died.

'She must have been still in grieving for her friends when she first arrived here,' Releena thought to herself glumly, sitting in the lunch room among the other students. Juri had held herself apart from other students with her odd dress and cold manner, her rescue of Releena coming as a great surprise. 'Though I wonder why I didn't reach out to her before?' she mused.

There was a small disturbance by the entrance, and Releena looked up from her thoughts to see Juri making her way over to the food counter, collecting her food graciously before turning back to gaze at the crowd. She looked around for a seat a few moments, and without thinking about it Releena shifted to make a bit of space at their table.

"Thank you," Juri said softly as she slid into the opening beside her.

Releena smiled slightly, "The seats tend to fill up very quickly." She was tempted to ask what had held Juri from coming to lunch on time, but hesitated.

"The fencing club has matches later this afternoon," Juri explained softly, "as one of the newer members it was my responsibility to help set up."

One of the other girls down the table gazed at Juri in surprised recognition before she blurted out, "You're the Prince!"

"Prince?" Releena looked over at Juri curiously.

Juri looked down at her plate with a soft sigh. "A nickname that I seem to have acquired," she quietly admitted, "after I won my first few fencing matches here."

"It suits you," Releena murmured, and wondered where that odd idea came from.

A band of white skin on her ring finger was visible as Juri raised a glass, drinking smoothly before putting it back down. "I hope I didn't embarrass you," Juri smiled at Releena slightly, "by slapping that jerk. I just couldn't help myself."

"Oh, no," Releena blushed.

"Good," Juri finished up her meal, neatly stacking her plates.

"When are you going to be competing this afternoon?" the girl who had first identified Juri as 'the Prince' asked her eagerly.

"I'll be in the second set of matches," Juri answered as she rose to go.

Releena even surprised herself when she quietly said, "I'll try to be there."

Standing concealed in another corner of the large and crowded lunch room Heero Yui ate an apple, watching the group talking thoughtfully. He had also been asking some questions about the young woman, but not through the normal student's network, and what he had found out was very interesting, to say the least.

He knew it hadn't been any colony terrorists who had destroyed the woman's school, no matter what the official press releases said. It had been a strike by OZ, probably a attempt to root out a possible source of resistance. There were some odd stories about the school, and strangely the leader of OZ was said to have gone there.

Heero dropped that train of thought, knowing it was mostly irrelevant to the current situation. 'I could have evaded that slap,' he admitted, 'but not without drawing too much attention to myself and what I can really do.' This Arisugawa Juri was clearly quite physically capable, and from what he had been able to lip-read, she was a fencer.

He pushed himself off his position against the wall and made his way towards the exit. 'I think I'll enter the matches this afternoon,' he thought, 'and see how good she really is.'

Time passed slowly in classes, and by the afternoon Arisugawa Juri was almost eager to begin the fencing. She limbered herself up, stretching out dressed in her white fencing uniform. The fencing hall itself was cool, and surprisingly the stands were filled with young men and women.

'Mostly women,' Juri found herself noting.

Sitting near the front row were all the girls from the lunch table, including the young woman whom she had stood up for with that rude young man. 'Releena,' Juri had discovered the girl's name, and how well known she was in the school.

When she had seen the clearly contemptuous way that the boy had torn that invitation apart, Juri had just seen red. Without even thinking about it she had forced her way through the crowd and then struck him across the cheek. She had met his eyes and felt a chill at the deadness in them, the utter lack of any human feeling.

'What does that to a person?' Juri found herself wondering, 'What can kill the soul so completely?' She looked up from her troubling thoughts to gaze at her first opponent, and it didn't even seem a surprise.

Heero Yui met her eyes steadily, "We meet again."

"So we do," Juri quietly agreed.

At the referee's signal Juri slid her protective mask on, as did Heero. "Ready," the referee raised up a hand, then crisply yelled, "Begin!"

With a bright flash of silver their foils met, separated, and then met once again as they gazed at each other intently, searching for any sign of weakness in their opponent. The two figures were like statues, waiting for any opening to strike.

'He's good,' Juri admitted.

Like a shot he moved, their blades tangling up as they stepped in close. "Not bad," Heero admitted, pressing to push her backwards.

Snap!

Heero's blade broke off, the one end flying away from the crowd luckily, but Heero pressed on. Using what was left of his blade he tried to twist Juri's foil right out of her hands, but she stepped back to avoid the maneuver. Swiftly he lunged for her head, trying to drive the sharpened, broken point of his blade towards her face clear guard, but with remarkable speed she turned it aside, then touching him just above the heart.

"Point, Arisugawa! Arisugawa wins," the referee declared.

"Good match," Juri took her helm off, shaking her head to free her long hair before offering him her hand.

Heero looked down at her hand and smiled slightly. He just turned away from her outstretched hand and then walked away silently.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

The battered ambulance bounced along the seaside road, Heero Yui gazing out the front window intently. He had a mission to complete, a lost Gundam to deal with. He knew what he had to do, where he could acquire the weapons to destroy it.

The bike came up the other side, and Heero met the eyes concealed beneath the helm, recognizing them from the flash of swords. 'Arisugawa,' he noted, even as she sped by him.

The bike smoothly slid to a stop, the kick-stand going down in one strong motion. The young woman took her helmet off, shaking out her long orange hair as she saw the ambulance disappear over a rise. "Heero Yui?" Juri murmured, a thoughtful expression on her face. With a little shrug of her shoulders she climbed on her bike and was gone.

The party was already in full swing as Juri brought her bike to a gentle halt in the driveway. The oversuit she wore was swiftly removed and folded away into a compartment on the bike, leaving the clothes she had chosen for the party revealed. She swept her hair back, grasped the invitation in her hand and went forward.

"Miss Releena," one of Releena's friends approached her to asked, "do you think that Miss Arisugawa will come?"

"I do hope so," Releena smiled, her long brown hair flowing down her back, her light pink gown hugging her slim body.

There was a disturbance at the entrance, and they turned to look only to gaze in shock. Arisugawa Juri strode through the doorway, the dark colored men's suit clinging to a clearly feminine body. A red rose in the pocket, and she carried a bouquet of flowers in hand. She scanned the crowd, then moved forward through the mob towards Releena.

Juri smiled slightly as she offered Releena the flowers, "Happy Birthday, Releena. I'd have picked up a more suitable gift, but there wasn't time."

Releena took the bouquet in her hands, bringing them to her face. She breathed deep of the scent, them smiled up at Juri, "They're wonderful, thank you."

"You're welcome," Juri said to her gently. With a bit regret she said, "I won't be able to stay too long." She thought of Heero Yui with a flash of pure irritation as she added, "There's something I need to do this evening."

Releena frowned, but quickly masked it. "I hope that you'll stay for the dances, please," she smiled, "everyone is so looking forward to it." Two older people came from downstairs and she smiled wryly, "My parents, please excuse me."

Juri watched her go thoughtfully, then look a look at the students around her. A good percentage of what could be thought of the elite of the school was gathered here, all in Releena's honor. With a bit of nervousness she noted the adoring looks that the girl's were giving her, and the glares coming from the boys.

Juri sweatdropped. 'It's going to be a long night,' she mused.

Releena's mother smiled slightly as the girl neared her, "Who is that striking young man with the long orange hair?"

Releena blushed slightly, "Sorry, but that's a girl, mother. Her name is Arisugawa Juri."

Her father's eyes widened slightly as the name triggered a memory, something from a confidential document. "From Ohtori Academy..."

Releena looked up at her father, "Do you know her?"

"No, no," he quickly shook his head, looking out at Juri with the oddest look on his face.

Releena looked up at him, about to ask him again when there was a disturbance at the front door. The young military officer made his way over to their side, and Releena just knew what was going to happen. He drew her father aside, and they talked for a few moments.

"... but it's my daughter's birthday!" her father finished forcefully.

Releena smiled wryly, knowing how that discussion was going to have to end. She put her hand on his arm, "It's all right, daddy. I know your work is very important."

He hesitated, then gave her a relieved smile. "Thank you," and with that he seemed to change, becoming the diplomat he was. With a intent expression he left, force in his stride.

The music for the dances started, but Releena just stood there, lost in her thoughts. She was startled when a gentle hand rested on her arm, and she looked up to meet Arisugawa Juri's expressive eyes. "Could I have this dance?" Juri asked softly.

"Yes..." Releena answered softly. Juri pulled her out into the middle of the large room, ignoring the murmurs of the crowd. Releena relaxed, quickly discovering that Juri lead the way she fought, both light on her feet and with great skill.

"I have to go," Juri finally said softly, bringing them to a stop. She took Releena's hand and gentlemanly kissed it, then she smiled slightly. "Happy birthday," she repeated, then turned around and strode out of the room.

Juri left the front door and took the steps down to where her motorcycle waited just as she left it. She pulled the oversuit on to protect her suit then climbed on the bike, pausing when she felt a gaze on her back. Looking back she was Releena on the steps, the door open behind her. Juri waved once, then was off.

The bike ate up the road as she gradually sped up, following in the direction that she had seen the battered ambulance speed off to. She didn't know what was going on with Heero, but whatever it was bothered her enough to check it out. In the distance along the shore she saw a flash of light, and her eyes widened.

"The munitions supply base," Juri muttered softly, opening up the throttle and racing ever faster down the highway.

Heero stood beside the lift, the rack carrying a bundle of torpedoes. "This should be sufficient to destroy even a Gundam," he muttered, bending over the controls intently. There was a flash of motion and he drew his gun, pointing it coolly.

"What are you doing, Yui?" Arisugawa Juri asked, looking at the gun the boy carried warily. 'A military Otaku,' she quickly assessed him, all dressed in the olive and gray garb those sort of boys liked. The gun looked awfully real, though, so she was going to treat him with caution.

"Somehow, I was almost expecting someone else," Heero murmured before pulling the trigger, the gun discharging loudly.

The bullet cut through the air, but Juri wasn't there. She ducked and rolled, coming up nearby him only to find the gun pointed at her face. 'Shit,' she cursed silently, meeting his gaze calmly.

"Not bad," Heero's finger tightened on the trigger when a shot rang out. He gasped in pain, staggering backwards as red blossomed on his shoulder.

"Ah, ah," the young man in black smiled, his white clerical collar gleaming as he leveled a gun at Heero, "can't have you shooting defenseless ladies."

"I'm not that defenseless," Juri murmured, trying to get a better look at the face hidden beneath the boy's black cap.

He gave her an impish smile, "Sorry, Miss," A flare blazed to life just above him, nearly blinding Juri as she took a half step back, shielding her eyes with her hand. "I'll just be taking the two Gundams and be going now."

"No!" In that moment of distraction Heero moved, his pistol coming up.

Juri jumped on him, the two fighting for the gun as the boy in black looked on. Juri met those wild eyes, a desperation and complete commitment to a purpose in them. They wrestled for the weapon, hands clambering over it, then suddenly a shot rang out.

Heero's grip eased as he fell backward, blood spreading out over his shirt as the gun slid into the dark waters. "I didn't mean..." Juri stammered out, "didn't want him to..."

Heero grabbed her hand, squeezing weakly, "OZ... the Specials... my mission..." He slumped, life escaping him as he slumped.

The boy in black puffed out a breath. "Thanks," he muttered softly, "you may have saved my life." He knelt down, shutting Heero's sightless eyes before pulling Juri to her feet. "You'd better get out of here, Miss."

"Arisugawa," Juri shot back, looking down at Heero's body, "he was fighting against OZ too. We didn't even need to be fighting."

"Fighting OZ," the boy in the cleric collar murmured as out in the bay two robots began to rise, one black and the other gleaming white. "Duo Maxwell," he introduced himself as he gave her a push forward. "You have to get out of here before the army or police arrive."

"Right," Juri marshaled her self control as she made her way over to her bike. She climbed aboard, pulled the helmet on, then frowned slightly as Duo stood up there on the platform studying her intently.

A grim smile on Duo's face, "I'll be seeing you, Arisugawa."

Juri wheeled the bike about and was gone in a squeal of tires. She made her way overland, bumping roughly over stone and greenery, but away from the roads the armed forces would be using to get to the base. She made her way across the moonlit terrain, and every moment considered what she had just done, the life she had accidentally taken.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Duo Maxwell puffed out a breath, the boy dressed in priest's garb looking between the tall girl and the other young man's body. "Thanks," he finally muttered to her softly, "you may have saved my life." Duo knelt down, reaching out to shut Heero's sightless eyes before pulling her to her feet. "You'd better get out of here, Miss."

"Arisugawa," the orange haired girl shot back, looking down at Heero's body, "he was fighting against OZ too. We didn't even need to be fighting."

"Fighting OZ," the Duo murmured as out in the bay two robots began to rise, one black and the other gleaming white. "Duo Maxwell," he introduced himself as he gave her a push forward. "You have to get out of here before the army or police arrive," he said urgently.

"Right," Arisugawa visibly marshaled her self control as the woman walked away from Duo towards her motorbike. She climbed aboard, pulled the black helmet on, and Duo just stood there, watching her thoughtfully.

Duo smiled grimly as he murmured, "I'll be seeing you, Arisugawa."

Arisugawa wheeled the bike about and was gone in a squeal of tires into the night. Duo noted with some admiration that she chose to make her way overland, bumping roughly over the stone and uneven ground, but also keeping well away from the major roads that the armed forces would be using to get out to the base.

"Well, back to work," Duo leapt down, smiling in satisfaction as his Gundam emerged from the waters, carrying the white Gundam that he had found on the ocean floor hours before. His original intention was simply to keep it for spare parts, but now...

A chopper whizzed by overhead, jerking him away from his thoughts. He moved out of the pool of light, keeping to the deep shadows as his remote controlled Mobile suit returned to the depths with a flick of a switch. He slid the remote away with a frown, wishing the effort of hauling them up hadn't been wasted, but he couldn't risk them being spotted.

The jeep was not far from the base, right where he had hidden it earlier, and Duo made it there easily. 'The regular army,' he thought to himself wryly, 'what a joke.' His smile faded as he continued, 'Now if it was OZ troopers out there, I might just be in trouble.'

Duo grabbed the uniform that he had stashed in the back seat, changing clothes quickly. Where a boy in priest's clothes had once been a Major in the Specials now sat, insignia gleaming and uniform crisp. He started up the jeep, pausing just a moment to pull on the matching cap, then he was gone, driving off into the night whistling a merry tune.

He passed by two checkpoints while he was getting off the station, his set of false papers and borrowed uniform carrying him past them easily. Still, Duo made sure to use evasion techniques to keep anyone from trying to tail him, finally dumping and then destroying both the jeep and uniform before moving on to his safe house.

Duo had his gun in hand, unlocking the door and carefully moving inside. He searched each room, scanning for any signs that someone else had been inside there. Finally he slid the gun away, moving over to a small personal computer.

The first thing he checked was for any new missions from his superiors, but there was nothing posted yet. "Well," Duo smiled, "lets take a look into our Miss Arisugawa." The search engine was first, and he frowned intently, sorting through the photos and articles. He found out that her first name, Juri, and with a bit of looking found that she was attending a major academy nearby. But Duo really reacted when he found the report about the fire at Ohtori.

"Colony terrorists?" Duo snorted in amusement, "yeah, right."

Duo raised an eyebrow at the accusations that Juri had made about the Specials, her claim that a group of OZ soldiers had really been the ones to cause the fire at Ohtori. It had all been hushed up pretty quickly, of course, but it must have been worrying to the leaders of OZ. She hadn't been shut up, instead they had discredited her using her relationship with another female student.

"Well, I guess she meant it when she talked about fighting against OZ," Duo said to himself thoughtfully. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the roof as he murmured, "But what do I want to do about it?"

In another part of the world, a irritating chime roused an older woman from her sleep. Short black hair stood up messily, but she seemed to awaken almost instantly, looking around her calmly. She reached out to hit the activation switch for a nearby communicator and coldly said, "Whoever this is, it had better be good."

"Noin," the silver helmeted figure appearing on the screen smiled at her slightly, "I'm sorry to disturb you so early."

"Zechs," Noin smiled back wryly, "I should have known." She sat up, running a hand through her hair to straighten it out, "What's the situation?"

"We're inbound to your position, ETA two hours," Zechs calmly explained, "there's some very important matters for us to discuss."

"I'll be ready," Noin answered, and he signed off without another word. 'What in the world does Zechs want with me now?' she wondered as she almost jumped up out of bed. 'I told him that it was over, the last time we met,' she thought grimly.

Noin stripped off her night clothes, stepping into the small shower for a few moments of hot water, then she switched it over to ice cold. A muffled scream later, and she was feeling much more awake. She dried off, dressed herself quickly in her dark blue uniform of the Specials, and after making sure she was presentable she was gone. Only a few minutes later she was up in the base's tactical room asking for a situation update from the very startled looking staff there.

A few moments of studying the military data coming in from the other bases, and Noin knew that there was only one real military problem: the Gundams. Four Mobile Suits from the colonies, each one of them different in design and capabilities. But they all had one thing in common: they were all striking against the OZ controlled bases. One was downed by Zechs himself, but no one else seemed to be able to stand against them.

'Does Zechs think the Gundams are going to attack this training center?' Noin thought to herself grimly. 'Or is there something else here that he needs?' She shook her head and sighed, she had broken up with Zechs because she didn't understand him, why should this be any different. "It's going to be a long two hour wait," Noin muttered.

"Ma'am?" one of the techs looked at her in confusion.

"Never mind," Noin turned, leaving the room.

The mobile suit transport plane landed right on time, Noin and a few of the other high-ranking officers of the base waiting for them to disembark. As Zechs climbed down, the scarlet clad ace of the Specials, Noin felt a pang of regret. But they weren't going anywhere, and she would not let herself be used, even by such a man.

Zechs offered respectful salutes to the officers, then nodded to Noin. "I need to speak with you privately," he said to her crisply.

The other officers, as well as Zechs' lieutenant all moved away. "Zechs," Noin actually found herself feeling irritable, "this had better not have been a personal visit. It's over."

"I know," there was an odd sound of regret in Zechs voice, "I'm here under orders from Treise himself." He took an envelope from his pocket, passing it over with a simple, "Here."

Noin turned the envelope over in her hands, looking curiously at the wax seal marked with a rose emblem. She popped the seal, and a stiff card as well as something heavy dropped into her hands. The rose seal glinted in the light of the dawn, and the card bore elegant script, "You have been chosen to become a duelist." Just below that, oddly, was the phrase, "End of the world."

"What in the world?" Noin looked up at Zechs in surprise.

"It seems that you've been chosen, too," Zechs said to her quietly, "chosen to be a major player in the coming drama."

"Too?" Noin narrowed her eyes in thought, remembering seeing the rose signet that Zechs also wore. "What is this all about?" she asked.

"The chance to achieve all our ambitions," Zechs smiled slightly, "the chance to hold miracles in our hand. One could even revolutionize the world." He paused, "but only if you choose to accept it."

Noin looked up at him, then down at the ring on her palm. She took the rose signet in her hand, then with a simple motion slid it on her finger. "What do we do now?"

"Your new orders," Zechs handed papers over to her, "you are being reassigned to the mobile suit divisions at your own discretion."

"That means I can go almost anywhere, do anything," Noin murmured, looking through the papers to confirm it. "Am I to go after the Gundams?"

"The Gundams are a part of this," Zechs said thoughtfully, "but not the only part. There are still players waiting to be revealed."

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

The message went out only a few hours later, relayed all around the world. Of course, only certain people received it, those who had been chosen by the colonies to bring a great change to the world below them. The blonde haired, oddly delicate looking young man sitting in the tent sighed to himself softly, reviewing the data.

"One of us is gone," Quatre Rebaba Winner sadly murmured, his formal garb odd compared to his surroundings. "I wish.." he shook his head, running a hand through his short hair. The rose signet he wore caught the light, glowing red and silver.

"Quatre-sama," one of his lieutenants came in, "it's nearly time."

Quatre nodded, giving the man a gentle smile, "Then lets go." He stepped out of his tent, pausing just a moment out there to look across the oasis at his Gundam, Sandrock.

"It's a most noble machine," the middle-eastern man beside him said, taking in the suit.

"It's a weapon," Quatre shook his head, "but it's a necessary one." A slight smile, "Let's get to work, we've got a mission to complete."

In another part of the world, a group of OZ mobile suits paused on the pavement, the grayish war machines raising their weapons. "It's coming!" one said frantically.

"It's just one suit," the commander growled back, "we can do this! Just be ready."

"Sir," another voice, an edge of panic in his voice, "incoming!"

Before any of them could even move, a wave of mini-missiles dropped on their location, hammering them backwards and sending their formation into chaos. From the smoke the suit appeared, the massive gattling gun was aimed, then it fired. The weave of metal slugs tore into the unit, ripping them to shreds.

"I'm sorry," Trowa Barton murmured, brown hair falling into his eyes, "I just wanted to destroy the supplies depot. But you saw me, and so your fate was sealed."

A soft chirp reminded him of the data streaming across a screen even as he popped the suit's breastplate open, revealing two more cannons that opened up on the surviving troopers. When only ruins remained, the boy in the pilot seat turned his attention to the message itself.

"We've lost a pilot," Trowa murmured. His hand tightened on the control stick involuntarily, and he felt his signet cutting into his finger.

"Here," the Asian boy passed the briefcase full of money over to the man in the truck driver's seat, "is everything I ordered there?"

"Of course," the gray haired fellow nodded to the loaded trucks, "the weapons and supplies you asked for are all aboard. Where do you want them?"

"Just leave it here," Wu-fei Chang said coldly.

But.." a young driver protested, "we can't just leave this stuff with a kid!"

"He's paying us in cash," the older man roared, "he can do what he wants with it!" His fellow thoroughly intimidated he looked over at Wu-fei, "Nice doing business with you."

Once the men left he climbed up to check over the gear just in case, then moved to where he had a small shelter concealed nearby. There was a message waiting for him on the computer, and he accessed it quickly, eager for a new mission. He read, then frowned slightly.

"So one of us is gone," Wu-fei Chang said to himself darkly, "then he was too weak anyway." He scowled, clenching his fists, the signet gleaming in the light as he cried out to the sky, "There are too many weak opponents!"

In a safehouse in another part of the world, Duo Maxwell smiled to himself grimly as he ran through the message. He had been the one to notify them, but it was still comforting to see his own report bounced back to him. He got up from his seat, the ring that he wore on a chain around his neck bumping up against his chest.

It was the second part of the message that concerned him, honestly. "Porotect second Gundam," Duw murmured that part to himself, "use own discretion to find sympathetic pilot." He shook his head, "They must be crazy. There's no way I can find another pilot!"

A flash of orange hair in his mind's eye, and Duo winced. The woman certainly had no love for OZ, that was true, but she was a complete unknown. Putting Arisugawa in the pilot seat of a gundam would be a great gamble, one that could blow up in all of their faces.

Duo smiled to himself wryly as he admitted, "Or it could pay off big time."

Not so far away, a tall figure strode out of the dorms, her long orange hair blowing behind her like a banner. The boy's uniform Arisugawa Juri wore was crisply neat, but there were a few bags under those intense eyes.

'Wish I could sleep better,' Juri thought to herself grimly. The last two nights sleep had been fitful, her dreams haunted by the memory of what she had done. She knew she hadn't much choice, and she was sure that Heero would have tried to shoot Duo, but... The man was dead, and she carried at least some of the responsibility for it.

"Arisugawa-san?" the pleasant voice startled her from her dark thoughts. Looking down she saw that Releena had fallen into step beside her almost silently, the brown haired young woman giving her a worried look.

"I'm sorry," Juri sheepishly apologized, "I was lost in my thoughts."

"And very grave thoughts they were," Releena said to her gently, "at least from the look on your face. Care to talk about it?"

"One of those moral issues," Juri murmured softly, "where there isn't really a right answer and you just have to muddle through it."

"Those are tough ones," Releena said sympathetically. Changing the subject she offered Juri a smile, "Thank you for coming to my party, by the way."

"You're welcome," Juri managed to smile back. "I hope I didn't manage to scandalize anyone too much by dancing with you," she added.

Releena chuckled softly. "The only problem your dancing with me caused," her eyes twinkled with humor, "was all the disapointed ladies there were when you left early."

"Oh, really?" Juri raised an eyebrow.

More seriously Releena continued, "I'm not kidding, you know. I suspect you're goimng to get mobbed by the girls at our next school dance."

"Now there's something to look forward to," Juri muttered.

Releena chuckled softly. They walked along together, Juri not really noticing the girls that lined her route to the school. She looked up at Juri and curiously asked, "I haven't seen Heero Yui around at all lately, has your nemesis given up?"

"He isn't exactly my nemesis," Juri said a bit uncomfortably. Keeping her voice as casual as she possibly could she continued, "He did transfer here rather suddenly, so maybe he had to leave for the same reason?"

"Maybe," Releena looked up at her thoughtfully.

"Hey, Arisugawa!" a boy's voice cried, and for just a moment Juri felt relieved at the distraction. Then she saw who it was and nearly froze. Leaning up against a wall, his brown braid neat with his boy's uniform stood Duo Maxwell. "Took you long enough," Duo said.

"What are you doing here?" Juri blurted out.

Releena looked between the two of them, "You two are friends?"

"We've known each other a while," he grinned before giving Releena a slight bow, "Duo Maxwell, at your service."

"Sorry, Releena," Juri recovered pretty quickly as she continued, "I just wasn't expecting him to meet us here."

Releena smiled slightly, "Did you want to talk? I could go on ahead.."

"Nah, that's not necessary," Duo gave them an engaging smile as he offered, "Why don't we all walk to our classes together?"

Juri gave Duo a look that would have killed a lesser man. "Of course," Juri said as they walked off together.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

The morning sunlight lit up Noin's dark hair, casting her face into shadows as she walked down the stairs from the transport plane. The woman who was waiting at the base of the steps for her had her brown hair pulled back in the military style, her Specials uniform crisp and neat, the insignia of the medical services shining.

"Lieutenant Noin," the woman saluted her, "my name is Sally Po."

"Lieutenant Po," Noin returned the salute gravely. They fell into step together towards a where a jeep was waiting as Noin drawled, "I'm still not quite clear on why I was sent here."

"Officially this base is here to help study the stress levels of pilots in Mobile Suits," Sally smiled as they climbed in, taking the driver's seat while Noin took the passenger's seat. "In fact, that sort of work is the reason that I'm here."

"And unofficially?" Noin asked curiously.

"Unofficially," Sally smiled slightly as they sped off towards the nearby buildings, "this is the headquarters of the second generation Mobile Suit project." She held up a hand before Noin could say something, "I can't go into detail, not until we're inside."

"Concerned about satellite surveillance?" Noin quietly noted. She smiled grimly as they bulled up to the hangars, "The colony rebels, of course."

"Exactly," Sally agreed as they strode across a dusty floor through what appeared to be an unused building. She swiped a keycard through a reader concealed on the back wall, and a door slid open. Sally waved her into the elevator, "After you."

"Very covert," Noin noted as they descended, "but is it really necessary?"

"The Gundams have been able to launch attacks on OZ facilities around the world," Sally noted, "many of which were also covert." She shrugged, "With what we're working on here, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"And what are you working on here?" Noin asked as the elevator descended, taking a moment to study the doctor. She was poised, but there was nervousness, too.

"Originally we were involved with developing the Mobile Dolls project," Sally said, watching the floor numbers count down, "but we've changed our focus to a new project with the arrival of the Gundams, and the difficulties our Leos are having with them."

"And what would that be?" Noin asked as they finally came to a halt. They exited the elevator together, walking out into a large hanger. Noin slowed, then stopped as she gazed in surprise at what waited there for them.

"That," Sally said with some satisfaction.

The mobile suit stood there, gleaming silver in the lights of the massive hanger. The figure resembled a European knight, unlike the regular mobile suits that were used by OZ. The size matched that of a Gundam, the suit giving a sense of restrained power.

"What's it called?" Noin murmured softly, an odd catch in her voice.

"Tallgeese," Sally said softly, "or technically the Tallgeese II. The first one is currently out in the field, being used by Zechs."

"Can it hold it's own against a Gundam?" Noin asked never pulling her eyes away from the mobile suit She smiled slightly, taking in the cannon mounted on the back, the shield resting on one arm. 'Beam saber, too,' she noted.

"Hopefully," Sally said with a slight shrug. "Zechs is pleased with the suit so far," she said as she urged Noin down the walkway, "but we're still working the bugs out of the design."

"Like?" Noin frowned, her eyes intent.

"The strain that the suit puts on a pilot is immense," Sally said quite frankly. "Lt. Zechs used the Tallgeese in the recent Sanq Kingdom operation, and it left him bedridden for days." Her face was grave as she continued, "One of his pilots used the suit to finish the mission, and his heart simply gave out under the strain."

"The pilots will have to be exceptional," Noin murmured thoughtfully as they went into another part of the facility. Here researchers worked on design terminals, others bent over work tables designing pieces of technology.

"We're training the pilots here for the Tallgeese," Sally said crisply, "as well as developing additional improvements to the standard Leos."

"Any bright lights?" Noin inquired.

"Zechs has suggested you for this," Sally smiled at her slightly, "and from what I've seen of your record, I'd have to agree. We also have one other pilot candidate in training with the simulators, you'll be meeting her pretty soon."

"Is OX manufacturing more of the Tallgeese suits?" Noin asked.

"Yes, but it's going slower than I'd like," Sally acknowledged, "as the representative of the Romafeller foundation keeps reminding me."

"Who are you dealing with?" Noin asked crisply.

"Tubarov," Sally said quietly.

"Is my uncle giving you trouble again?" the young woman's amused voice came from behind them. Noin quickly turned, taking in a young woman wearing a simple flightsuit. Her long blonde hair flowed around her, her smile impish, her eyebrows oddly shaped.

"Occasionally," Sally agreed good naturedly. She smiled at Noin, "Lt. Noin, I'd like you to meet our pilot trainee, Dorothy Catalonia."

"Lt. Noin?" Dorothy smiled, looking over the dark haired woman thoughtfully, "Your reputation as a trainer precedes you."

"Thank you," Noin nodded, "and my reputation as a pilot is just as good."

"Do try not to sneak up on OZ soldiers," Sally scolded Dorothy, a slight smile on her face, "it tends to result in people being shot by accident."

"Your concern for my welfare is touching," Dorothy drawled. She looked over at Noin, "She's shown you the Tallgeese?"

"First thing," Noin nodded slightly.

"It's a magnificent war machine," Dorothy said, pulling her flight suit gloves off, "I hope to pilot one like it, eventually." She waved to them as she turned to walk away, the rose signet ring she wore shining in the artificial light.

"You certainly deal with her casually," Noin said to Sally softly, once the pretty blonde had walked out of hearing range.

"She's pretty useful," Sally explained calmly, "she'll go talk to Tubarov, and he'll get off our backs for a few weeks." At Noin's surprised look she continued, "I don't know how she has so much influence with him, but she does."

Noin nodded thoughtfully, "And is she a good pilot?"

They walked on a few steps in silence. "She's very good," Sally admitted, "I'd be ready to put her in a Mobile Suit right now if she wasn't so damn eager."

"Eh?" Noin blinked.

Sally sighed, "Dorothy sees a battle like a pageant, a beautiful display of arms and mecha. I don't know if she quite understands that lives are being lost, people slain." She paused, "Or if she does know, if she even cares."

"One of those ones," Noin nodded thoughtfully, "I ran into that type when I was training pilots. I'll keep an eye on her, do what I can."

"Thanks," Sally sighed.

Safely hidden in the shadows Dorothy watched them walk by, her expression thoughtful. 'Another duelist,' she mused, having seen Noin's ring when they talked. Once they were gone she slipped from her concealment, walking the other way.

'I was cultivating Sally Po as a possible resource,' Dorothy thought, unzipping her flightsuit to make herself a bit more comfortable, 'I'd best look into this Noin, as well. One never knows when one might need an ally.'

There was a dangerous, almost catlike smile on her beautiful face as she made her way to the staff quarters. She reached her room, the door slid open and she walked in, 'There will only be one victor of the Duels.' A soft laugh as she stripped, changing to a dress that was almost the opposite of her flight suit as she said aloud, "And that will be me."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

"You're offering me his Gundam?" Juri echoed. An odd little smile appeared on her face as she murmured, "I'm reminded of a saying about stepping into a dead man's shoes."

"Not quite that," Duo Maxwell sighed.

The two of them made an odd looking pair, standing there by the wall in a deserted part of the large campus. The orange haired Juri Arisugawa was nearly half a foot taller than her companion, and she carried herself with confidence. Beside her Duo Maxwell almost blended into the shadows, the black schoolboy's uniform that the brown haired boy wore going well with the black cap he kept pulled down over his eyes.

Duo took a computer disk from his pocket, passing it over as he said, "There's information here on where I hid the Gundam, as well as how to access a simulator mode in the suit. It'll help train you for using the suit, though I'd bet you'll be a natural."

"I haven't even agreed to do it Maxwell," Juri quietly protested even as she took the disk from him, oddly heavy in her hand.

Duo simply walked away, only stopping to say over his shoulder, "You said you wanted to fight OZ, Arisugawa. This is your chance."

Juri slipped the disk into her boy's uniform pocket, watching him walk off as her own thoughts ran away with her. She pushed off from where she leaned against the wall and walked back to her dorm, feeling the breeze ruffle her long hair.

'I shot that boy,' Juri thought of Heero sadly, 'even if it was an accident. Can Duo really expect me to pilot the Mobile Suit he possessed?"

Flower petals blew around her as Juri walked on, her black boy's school uniform hugging her lean form. The students watched her as she went, and she felt a bit of a flush touch her cheeks. Nearing her dorm her eyes widened as she saw the student who was waiting there for her there, leaning up near the front doors with a false sort of casualness.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Releena said, her long brown hair flowing down her back as she smiled up at Juri gently.

"It's no bother," Juri said, despite feeling a degree of irritation at the intrusion. Mastering her emotions she said, "Would you care to come in?"

"I'd love to," Releena smiled.

Juri used her key to open up the outer door, leading Releena over to the elevator as she asked conversationally, "How were classes today?"

"Not bad," Releena smiled. She hesitated as they stepped into the elevator together, "Who was that odd young man you were with?"

"Duo is an old acquaintance," Juri lied glibly, feeling a bit bad about doing it.

"Not a boy friend then," Releena mused. She laughed quietly as they exited the elevator into a thickly carpeted hallway, "I think many of your fans will be glad about that."

Juri felt herself blush slightly at that even as she murmured, "I suppose so."

They walked up the long hall together mostly silently, quickly reaching Juri's dorm room. She unlocked the door with a golden key and swung it open, stepping aside and then waving for Releena to go inside the room first. Juri saw Releena scanning the room as she entered, taking in the neat bed, desk, personal computer and the few personal items that Juri still had.

"What a lovely place," Releena smiled.

"Sorry for the mess," Juri said, frowning a bit at the scattered books and stuff. She nodded in the general direction of the desk and bed, "Grab a seat, I'll be with you in a moment."

"Thank you," Releena walked past the desk and chair and sat down on the side of the bed, leaning forward just slightly.

Juri took off her black uniform jacket, determined to get as comfortable as she could. As she hung it up her locket swung free, the golden metal shining. It clinked softly up against the signet ring that was hanging there beside it on the chain, loud in the silence. She noticed Releena's eyes gazing at it, and braced herself for the inevitable questions.

"That's a lovely ring," Releena surprised her with that question, "why don't you wear it?"

Juri reached up to touch the signet, warm from being near her skin, and said, "I received it at my old school. It's a momento to me."

Releena winced visibly, obviously having heard about what had happened. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't know."

"There's no reason you would have," Juri said, keeping her rattled emotions out of her voice. She walked over to the desk, pulling out the chair and sitting down. "So what can I do for you?" she asked Releena curiously.

Releena looked down shyly, a bit of color appearing on her cheeks. "I'm going to be going on a diplomatic trip with my father," she said softly, "I'll have to leave the school for weeks."

Juri wasn't quite sure where the girl was going with this, honestly. "And you don't want to go?" she offered with a frown.

"Not really," Releena looked up to flash a smile. "I can't really turn him down, not without hurting his feelings. However, he has said I can bring a classmate along," she said tentatively.

It took Juri a moment, then she asked, "Me?"

"You don't have to," Releena hastened to say, "if you don't want to. The space colonies are a dangerous place right now, and it will just be my dad going to meetings and stuff."

"I guess with the tensions between Earth and the colonies they really need a good diplomat there to calm things down," Juri said as her own thoughts raced. Reports leaked to the media said that the Gundams and their pilots were from the colonies. If she went, she might be able to... do something for Heero Yui, pay some kind of respects to them.

Releena sighed softly as she murmured, "My father seems to think our military is the greater threat." She brightened as she looked up, "So what do you think?"

'Duo, I hope you hid that Gundam very well,' Juri thought to herself as she said aloud to Releena, "Yes, I'd like to go."

Releena pushed herself off the bed, getting back to her feet. She smiled at Juri, "Thank you, Juri. You may just make this trip bearable."

Juri got up out of her chair and they walked towards the door together. "So when are we going?" she asked her.

"Two days," Releena said as they stopped by the door, "pack clothes that are comfortable, and a few formal pieces." Juri opened up the door and Releena turned towards her. In a sudden gesture she rose on her toes to press her lips to Juri's cheek, "Thank you again."

With that Releena was gone down the hallway, hair flowing down her back. Juri stood there in surprise, fingers resting on her cheek in surprise. It took a moment for her to recover, then with a faint blush she shut her door and retreated back to her room.

"Well," Juri muttered softly, "that was interesting."

Shaking her head Juri walked over to where her jacket hung, pulling the computer disk out of her pocket. She went back to her desk and sat down, sliding the disk into the drive with a soft click. It took some thinking to sort through the files, but after some work she found the map and where Duo had hidden the Mobile Suit.

"He buried it under a hillside?" Juri blinked. Softly she murmured, "I hope the suit can dig it's way out when the time comes."

Juri browsed the information contain there for a while, but finally her eyes began to feel the strain and she shut the computer down. She got up from her seat, moving towards the window to look out at the deepening darkness. She made quite the striking figure in white shirt and black pants, hands in her pants pockets.

'I wonder if I'm doing the right thing?' Juri mused as she opened her locket, looking at the images of Shiori on one side and Utena and Anthy on the other. She closed it with a snap, yawning slightly, then stumbled towards her bed.

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Lieutenant Noin growled angrily in the back of her throat as she hurriedly dressed, the alarm ringing through the covert facility. She had been training here for only a few days, but she hadn't heard these sirens before. She ran out of her quarters half dressed, tucking her white shirt into her pants then pulling her uniform jacket on.

"What's going on," Noin demanded as she ran into the command center, noting that most of the people there were equally sleep rumpled.

"A Gundam is approaching the facility," Tubarov scowled, the balding executive of the Romafeller foundation dressed only in his pajamas. He ran a hand across his head, "I knew we should have had the facility on the moon..."

"Later, Uncle," Dorothy Catalonia soothed him quietly, the beautiful blonde dressed in her trainee's uniform.

"Do we have surveillance information?" Noin demanded crisply, her voice carrying with it the ring of one used to command.

Sally Po looked visibly relieved to have Noin taking charge, the brown haired officer activating the tactical screen, "Here."

The suit was almost Chinese in appearance, skulking closer to the facility, obviously still unaware that it had been spotted. It was hard to assess it's weapons from the image, but the draconic device that was mounted on one arm HAD to be a weapon.

"We have a few Leos here," Dorothy quietly mused, "we could send them out as a distraction while evacuating the facility."

"It would take hours to get everyone out," Sally answered before adding firmly, "and I am not willing to sacrifice pilots needlessly."

"Sometimes that's necessary in war," Dorothy said coldly.

"If the Gundams are as capable as I've heard," Noin said softly, "he'd cut through a team of Leos in no time."

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Tubarov demanded.

Noin ignored him as she asked Sally, "Is the Tallgeese ready to go?"

Sally's eyes widened as she blurted, "You're in no way ready for the physical strain piloting it would put you under..."

""The Tallgeese is the only thing we have that can match that thing," Noin said crisply. She paused, "I need a wingman out there, in case something does go wrong."

Before Dorothy could say anything Sally said, "I'll do it." At Noin's questioning glance she smiled grimly, "I may be a doctor, but I'm a qualified mobile suit pilot."

Noin hesitated, then nodded. "Suit up," she said, "we've got to launch before he gets near enough to see where we're coming from."

"Right," Sally replied, both women rushing out of the command center together.

Tubarov moved over towards where Dorothy was standing, dropping his voice to ask, "Did you make that suggestion to spur Noin on?"

"Of course," Dorothy smiled.

"But why?" Tubarov hissed out the question. "I thought you wanted to be the Tallgeese pilot!" he demanded softly.

Dorothy continued to smile, but there was nothing at all warm in her expression. "We may end up competing, Noin and I," she said to him softly as she watched the view screen, "I'd like to know early how capable she is."

Noin ran into the hanger, Sally following right behind her. She slowed down a bit as she headed along the elevated catwalk to where the Tallgeese suit waited, a silver armored knight ready to ride out into battle. 'Or be ridden,' Noin thought wryly, hitting the switch beside the cockpit to open the chest cavity up, revealing the pilot's seat.

Sally Po ran over to a standard Leo, but her thought weren't on what she was about to be doing. 'I hope Noin knows what she's doing,' she thought as she climbed aboard. She closed the hatch, running the pre-launch checks as she activated the communications system. "Command, do you read me?" she asked as a test.

"Command here," Dorothy's voice rang out, "the Gundam has ceased it's advance, possibly due to an aerial presence."

Noin's face appeared on one of Sally's viewscreens, the dark haired pilot eyes dark and intense. "Then let's use the opportunity," she said.

"Moving out," Sally calmly agreed, easing her mobile suit out of it's cradle, feeling a bit relieved as Noin easily moved the Tallgeese out. 'Guess the time she spent in our simulators has paid off,' she mused, walking her own suit towards the launch ramp.

"I want you to hang back," Noin said as they moved into position, "this is a good chance to see how the Tallgeese performs."

"Are you nuts..." Sally started.

"Not that I don't want your help," Noin flashed a smile. "If you get a clear shot at the Gundam take it, but mostly I want you there as backup," she said.

Sally puffed out a breath before reluctantly saying, "All right."

Not answering verbally Noin activated the massive engines mounted on the back of the Tallgeese, rocketing up the access ramp. In a single move she pulled the beam saber from the concealment in her shield and ignited it, the blade glowing orange.

Noin groaned as she felt the suit's powerful acceleration slam her back into the seat. "God," she muttered softly, but refused to ease back on the engine. She roared into the forest surrounding the base, cursing the availability of such easy cover.

To say that the Gundam was startled would be pushing it. Almost as soon as she roared towards the Gundam he rose to his feet, his own beam weapon flaring to life. Wu-fei grinned, the Asian young man striking out with his weapon, not really surprised to have her counter it.

"Not bad," Wu-fei murmured. This mobile suit didn't look like any of the OZ suits that he had studied, it was a totally new type. They took a step back, studying each other. 'I could use the Dragon's fang' he mused, 'but fire would hinder me too, in this forest.'

The silvery suit attacked again with such speed and power that he had to give ground. 'Who is this pilot?' Wu-fei wondered admiringly, turning the tide a moment and driving the suit backwards. A flare of it's thrusters righted it and it attacked again, relentlessly.

Again and again the sparred back and forth, two opponents almost evenly matched. Dorothy watched the battle eagerly in the viewscreen, her breath coming faster. Tubarov looked over at her dubiously, wondering if his niece was actually getting sexually excited.

"Marvelous," Dorothy said, her voice showing her honest pleasure, "the Gundams are everything I had heard."

"And Noin's more than holding her own in Tallgeese," Tubarov noted.

"It looks like Sally's getting into the game," Dorothy nodded to the screen.

Wu-fei growled as an explosion threw him forward. He swept the battlefield, cursing his focus on his one opponent and spotted the Leo behind him. Wu-fei felt his lips curl back in an admiring smile as he assessed the situation.

'If I go after the Leo I'll be an easy target for the other suit," Wu- fei thought as the two suits slowly circled him, 'and if I go after the new suit the Leo will keep hammering me. They've bracketed me nicely.' He made his decision in a moment, turning and fleeing the field. "This isn't over," Wu-fei cried out angrily as he raced away, the thrusters on the back of his suit throwing him forward.

"Should we go after him?" Sally asked eagerly.

"Hold it," Noin barked, her oddly pale face appearing on one of the screens in the Leo. "It's too easy for him to turn on us, and we have no idea if he has friends waiting out there. Beside, we've got another problem," she added.

"What's that?" Sally asked.

"I think the Tallgeese broke a couple of my ribs," Noin said apologetically, wincing in pain as she shifted in her seat.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Arisugawa Juri smiled slightly as she looked around the airport, searching around for the gate she needed. The orange haired woman in casual black slacks and white shirt strode through the crowd, a striking figure amid the chaos of arriving and departing people.

"Juri-san!" Releena waved.

Juri cut towards where the brown haired young woman stood, taking in the two figures standing nearby. A older man, Releena's father, stood to one side, looking distinguished in his suit. Watching the crowd like a hawk was a woman dressed in a red military uniform, glasses gleaming and hair up in a complex bun.

"I hope I'm not late," Juri smiled slightly.

Releena smiled, moving to meet Juri. "You're early," she murmured, "but it seems our military escort has her own schedule."

Juri nodded to Releena slightly. She offered her hand to the older woman as she introduced herself, "I'm Arisugawa Juri, pleased to meet you."

"Colonel Une," she nodded, glasses gleaming. She pushed up her glasses, gloves crisp and white, and added, "I wasn't aware we were having company on this trip."

"My daughter invited Juri," Ambassador Dornlan said firmly, "with my permission." He raised an eyebrow to ask challengingly, "Is there a problem?"

"No, I don't think so," Une replied calmly.

A few moment's later Une excused herself, leaving the three of them to wait for the flight. "She's a bit tightly wound," Releena said softly.

"And she was certainly happy to see me," Juri noted.

"I get the feeling that she doesn't like surprises," the ambassador noted. He gave Juri a thoughtful look, "You recognized the uniform?"

Juri smiled grimly, wondering why he was asking. "She's one of the Specials," the young woman said calmly, "a member of OZ."

Colonel Une entered the secured communications booth, using her access to quickly make the connection she wanted. "Yes?" Treize Khushrenada asked curiously.

"There is an unexpected complication with the mission," Une said calmly, "it seems that Arisugawa Juri will be coming along."

Treise frowned slightly. "Will this prevent you from carrying out your mission?" he asked. "If you wish, we can delay the operation," he offered.

"No," Une shook her head, "I'll complete my mission. I'm well aware how much we need this event to ignite our other operations."

Treise smiled slightly in approval. "I look forward to hearing about your success," he said before disconnecting.

"I love you," Une murmured to the blank screen, then with a shake of her head she was off.

"Here she comes," Juri murmured as Une walked back towards them, "everybody be good, now." Releena chuckled softly while the ambassador frowned at her.

"You can still decide not to go," Releena's father smiled at Juri wryly, "this may not be quite the trip you were expecting."

"I gave my word," Juri said, giving the worried looking Releena a smile. "Besides," she added, "this way I get to miss a few days of school, too."

"Looking on the bright side?" Releena asked.

"Something like that," Juri agreed.

The ambassador fought back a chuckle. "I wouldn't have thought you were that sort of student," he noted as they began to board the shuttle.

"I'm not, generally," Juri agreed.

They settled into their seats, the luggage all stowed away earlier. Releena's father took a seat ahead of the two young women, Juri and Releena sitting side by side behind him. Across the aisle Colonel Une sat, going through some papers that she had brought along.

Releena noticed Juri's tense posture and quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Sorry," Juri made herself relax her grip on the armrests of her chair, "this is the first time I've been on an orbital shuttle."

"Don't worry," Releena smiled, putting her hand gently on Juri's own. "You don't get seasick, do you?" she asked.

"Thankfully no," Juri chuckled.

"Then you shouldn't have any trouble with spacesickness," Releena said.

"That's comforting," Juri laughed.

The vehicle rumbled slightly as it began to move, rolling down the runway. It smoothly rose up into the sky with barely a kick, ascending into the air. The ground receded, the city's shrinking away, ultimately disappearing far below them.

"Brace yourself," Releena's father advised them, having taken this trip many times before.

A powerful burst of thrust slammed them back into their seats, the rockets firing in a powerful continuous burst to push their craft out of the atmosphere. The blue sky faded out, replaced by darkness and starlight as they moved into space itself.

"Wow," Juri managed, knowing that she sounded foolish but not really caring.

There was an odd smile on Colonel Une's face as she pushed her glasses up, but it wasn't mocking. Instead it was a slightly sad smile, almost as if she regretted loosing some of the wonder carried by spaceflight. Then she shook herself and went back to work.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" Releena murmured.

There was a moment of silence as the sensation of weightlessness came over them. Only the belts securing them to their seats held them in place as the shuttle maneuvered, jets turning them into position. Gravity apparently returned as the engines fired again, propelling them towards the colony. In only a short time they were docking with the massive construct, walking down an access-way into the earth-like environment within.

"Welcome to the colony," the brown haired young woman smiled a bit nervously. She was dressed casually, holding a clipboard in her hands and a cowlick disturbing her neat hair. "My name is Hilde," she introduced herself, "and I'll be your guide."

"Nice to meet you," the ambassador introduced himself, then said, "this is Colonel Une, by daughter and our guest Arisugawa Juri."

There was an odd flicker in Hilde's eyes when she heard Juri's name but whatever she was thinking she hid well. "welcome," Hilde repeated with a smile. She tilted her head to the side, "Would you like to go to your hotel, or I could show you around?"

"Hotel, I think," Une jumped in to say firmly, "we could use a rest." She looked at the ambassador, "And I don't believe you've eaten since breakfast?"

"No, we haven't," the ambassador agreed.

"I think we can manage to avoid starvation for awhile," Juri surprised them by saying. She ignored the glare Une was giving her and continued, "Personally, I'd like to look around."

"Me, too," Releena offered.

The ambassador looked at both young women, then at the displeased Une and smiled slightly. "Why not," he agreed, "we have nothing urgent scheduled for today."

Hilde lead them over to a car, large enough to seat everyone, then climbed in the driver's seat. "A restaurant first?" she asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Releena's father said as Une climbed I the front passenger side, maintaining her distance. As the car started up he quietly asked Juri, "Why did you do that?"

"I'm not sure, she just seemed oddly insistent about it," Juri shrugged. She flashed a smile, "And I liked the idea of throwing off her schedule."

The ambassador chuckled softly. "Remind me not to annoy you," he said.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

Colonel Une walked with the others into the colony, the majesty of the great construct around them completely lost on her. Instead she was entirely focused on her task, on the mission that lay before her. She looked up, round glasses gleaming to see a brown haired woman waiting for them and frowned, wondering where the young man she had arranged to be here was.

"Welcome to the colony," the woman smiled a bit nervously. She was dressed casually, holding a clipboard in her hands and a cowlick disturbing her neat brown hair. "My name is Hilde," she introduced herself, "and I'll be your guide."

"Nice to meet you," the dark brown haired ambassador introduced himself, then said, "this is Colonel Une, by daughter and our guest Arisugawa Juri."

Une noticed there was odd in Hilde's reaction when she heard Juri's name but whatever she was thinking she hid well. "Welcome," Hilde repeated with a smile. She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Would you like to go to your hotel, or I could show you around?"

'This should work well,' Une thought as she jumped in to say firmly, "Hotel, I think, we could use a rest." She looked over at the ambassador and added casually, "And I don't believe you've eaten since breakfast?"

"No, we haven't," the ambassador agreed.

"I think we can manage to avoid starvation for awhile," Juri said with a smile, "personally, I'd like to look around."

Une kept her mouth shut, trying not to snap at the orange haired young woman. It didn't help when Releena and her father both chimed in their agreement, pretty much sealing the deal.

Hilde lead them over to a car, large enough to seat everyone, then climbed in the driver's seat. "A restaurant first?" she asked.

"Sounds like a plan," Releena's father said.

Une turned to one of her assistants, coolly instructing him to forward their gear to the hotel as planned. Then she climbed into the front seat with Hilde, dropping her voice as she asked the girl, "Where's the escort that I booked?"

"Sick," Hilde said simply, her fingers tightening on the wheel. She gave Une a tense smile, "I was a last minute replacement.

"Of course," Une murmured thoughtfully, studying her..

As Hilde started up the car Une listened to the conversation in the back seat, the ambassador quietly asking Juri, "Why did you do that?"

"I'm not sure, she just seemed oddly insistent about it," Juri shrugged. She sounded like she was smiling as she added, "And I liked the idea of throwing off her schedule."

The ambassador chuckled softly. "Remind me not to annoy you," he said.

"Juri," Releena added cheerfully, "I'm just glad that we're taking the time to look around the colony." Her voice sounded a bit scolding as the light brown haired girl added, "On the last trip I took up here with my father we barely looked around at all."

Une sighed, fighting back a slight smile. She mentally took her planned schedule, folded it all up and then tossed it right into the garbage. 'Well,' she thought to herself wryly, 'they do say no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.'

"So which restaurant are we going to?" Juri leaned forward to ask Hilde.

Hilde smiled slightly as she talked about the place they were going, and Une studied the woman thoughtfully. Barely more than a girl, dressed in the casual clothing of the colonies, she drove with smooth competence. 'So why don't I trust her?" Une mused.

They were in time for lunch, it turned out, with a mix of young men and women in the cafe that Hilde had picked out. The food was good if casual, dished up in generous portions on the large plates. Une tried to eat formally, white gloves on and in proper military style, but even she had to relent and relax just a bit.

Une casually took Releena in as they ate, studying the girl intently. She was pretty, but there was something else about her, something more compelling. She had a certain charisma, much like Mr. Treise or Zechs, a sparkle that drew people in. Even with her awareness of the girl's charm Une felt herself unwillingly being drawn in.

"I thought we could visit the university next," Hilde said cheerfully as they ate, "the architecture is magnificent there."

"I went there once," the ambassador calmly agreed as he looked towards Releena, "I suspect that you would enjoy it."

"I get away from school on Earth," Juri smiled impishly, "only to get sent to one here."

Releena chuckled softly, Hilde smiled and even Une felt her lips twitch up slightly. This Juri wasn't what she had been expecting either, Une mused. The duelist had a oddly casual manner, the regal beauty restraining her more predatory aspect. Still, the look she had given Une when they first met made her well aware that the danger was hidden, not gone.

Juri's eyes settled on Une's hand and she realized her signet ring was visible, the blood red rose glowing in the artificial light. Juri looked up to meet her eyes and casually say, "I guess you attended Ohtori academy, once."

Une shook her head no, "It's a... symbol, a mark of a certain, exclusive club." She met Juri's eyes, wondering what the girl might be thinking about as she said, "It may have started at Ohtori, but it has expanded far beyond the school."

Une pointedly looked down at the pale skin on Juri's finger where once she had worn a matching signet, the young woman shifting a bit uncomfortably. Juri frowned while Releena looked on in pure confusion. The ambassador, on the other hand, looked like a man given the last piece of a very complicated puzzle.

"What is she talking about?" Releena finally asked.

"I'm not fighting in the duels anymore," Juri said it with a certain intensity, "I'm not playing in that sort of game anymore."

Une felt herself smiling, though she felt a flash of pity for the younger woman. "Taking off the ring doesn't mean you're out of the game," she answered mildly, "for that you'd need a miracle."

Juri closed her eyes for a moment, when she opened them again they seemed to carry with them a new determination. 'I may have misplayed this,' Une found herself thinking, but she made herself meet that intense gaze.

"I've seen miracles happen," Juri said slowly, as if each word were difficult, "and while the one who pulled that off is gone, I'll do what I have to."

"What is going on here?" Hilde finally demanded, the girl looking between Une and Juri in pure bafflement.

"That what I want to know," Releena agreed.

"This really isn't good lunch time conversation," Releena's father finally said, though from the look on his face he wanted to hear more.

Une rose, pulling her while gloves back on smoothly, never breaking gaze from Juri's eyes. "No, it's not," she finally said, "Juri and I can always discuss this more later."

Juri reached up, grasping at something beneath her shirt, maybe a necklace of some kind. "Later," she agreed, getting to her feet too.

Releena took Juri's arm, looking up at her in alarm. With that Juri softened a bit and Une shook her head slightly. 'Yes, Releena certainly has a gift,' she mused as they walked back to the waiting car, 'one that could be dangerous later.'

Hilde opened the car door for Une, the look on her face curious but she didn't comment. As the others got in she asked, "So where to next?"

"Back to the hotel," the ambassador firmly said from the back seat, "I think it might be best if we all took a bit of a break."

"Indeed," Une calmly murmured.

The car pulled out into traffic, Hilde guiding it expertly through the streets to the hotel. If the others talked any more in the back seat, they did it so quietly that Une couldn't overhear it. Hilde smoothly pulled in front of the building, getting out to open the doors once again. "Can I help you get settled in?" Hilde offered.

"We should be fine," Releena's father started to say...

K-BOOM!

... when he was cut off. The upper floor of the hotel was engulfed in a fireball, stone and glass falling rapidly towards them. 'That wasn't mind,' Une thought dazedly when a hand grabbed her by the arm and yanked her aside.

"Look out," Juri cried as she all but threw Une, Releena and herself behind a nearby building even as Hilde and the ambassador ducked behind another. Debris fell around them, secondary booms rattling their ears until finally there was sweet silence.

"You saved my life," Une managed, looking at Juri in shock. She couldn't believe she would do something like that, especially after she had tried to bait Juri during lunch.

"Reflex," was Juri's short answer. She looked at Releena, whom she had unconsciously wrapped in the safety of her arms and asked, "Are you all right?"

"I think so," the fiercely blushing Releena answered.

They soon emerged from their shelter, looking up at the now burning building, the sounds of sirens off in the distance. "It seems someone doesn't like us," Releena's father finally said dryly.

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

K-BOOM!

... what Releena's father was about to say was suddenly cut off. The upper floor of the hotel exploded into a fireball, pieces of stone and glass falling rapidly towards them. Releena froze, looking up in shock as the entire floor was consumed by the flames.

"Look out," Juri cried out as the orange haired girl all but threw Releena, Une and herself behind a nearby building even as Hilde and the ambassador ducked behind another. Debris fell around them, secondary booms rattling their ears until finally there was sweet silence.

"You saved my life," Une managed to get out, her round glasses catching the light. Her long brown hair was tied back, but her self control seemed to be failing against her surprise.

"Reflex," was Juri's short answer. Releena felt safe, held there in Juri's arms as the other girl asked her, "Are you all right?"

"I think so," Releena answered, her cheeks flaming. The long brown haired girl enjoyed the sensation of being held then finally had to say, "Ah, Juri? You can let me go now."

"Sorry," Juri blushed, helping Releena get up from their place on the ground. She pulled Une up smoothly, the officer still looking badly shaken.

They soon emerged from their improvised shelter, the group looking up at the now badly burning building, the sounds of sirens wailing off in the distance. "It seems someone doesn't like us," Releena's father finally said dryly, his short brown hair badly messed, his suit dusty.

"Dad," Releena looked over at him scoldingly.

"Colonel," Juri looked over at Une with an oddly calculating look on her face, "other than the Specials whom would want the ambassador dead?"

Une met Juri's eyes directly and Releena could feel a dangerous current leaping between the two women. The Colonel's voice was calm as she said, "Other than the Specials? Well, the Colony rebels have no love for the ambassador." A grim little smile as she tried to brush her uniform off, "The faction called the White Fang are especially militant, I understand."

"But why would these White Fang want my Father dead?" Releena said, feeling all the blood leaving her pale face.

"There are those on both sides of the conflict that want to see a war," her Father sighed, "for reasons of profit or personal gain."

"Or for a cause they may believe in," Une said dryly.

"Either way," Juri said, "we certainly can't stay here tonight." She looked over at Hilde and asked, "Know a good hotel that can put us up for the night?"

"I could suggest a few," Hilde answered softly.

Releena swayed a bit, feeling light headed, and her Father quickly grabbed her arm. "Thank you," she murmured then asked, "how can you take this all so calmly?"

"We're not calm," he gave her a gentle smile as he quietly explained, "just trying to carry on as best we can."

"We'd best get moving," Une said crisply, "there's no way to know if who did this is in a position to take another shot."

"Sounds like a plan," Juri said as the group headed back to the car. She tossed a look at the ambassador as they all climbed in, "Do you want to carry on with your meetings?"

"The situation is so unstable that I think I have to," he said seriously. He took a deep breath, "But I want Releena and you on the first available shuttle back home."

"No," Releena blurted out.

"I'm not leaving either," Juri said firmly. Releena looked over at her in surprise as Juri continued, "I couldn't forgive myself leaving you here in the line of fire."

"He won't be alone," Une settled into her seat across from the other three as she smiled dangerously, "I'll be here."

"An even better reason for me to stick around," Juri shot back.

Hilde gulped nervously then the young woman started up the car and said, "I'll just take us over to the hotel, all right?"

The group in the back seat ignored that, the drama there occupying their interest. Une and Juri seemed oddly evenly matched despite the officer's advantages in age and experience, meeting each other's eyes directly. Une smiled slightly as she asked, "Are you implying that I was responsible for that explosion back there?"

"No," Juri shook her head, "unless you're a better actress than I think you are you were as surprised as the rest of us. I just don't think you'd mind someone succeeding."

"Juri," Releena looked over at her in surprise, mildly shocked that she would say something like that. She realized, with an instant of clarity, that she didn't really know Juri as well as she might have thought she did.

"This isn't the time..." her father tried to jump in.

"I think I may have to demand satisfaction, Arisugawa," Une said crisply, pulling off a glove and striking Juri across the face with it, her rose signet gleaming on her bare hand.

Juri put her hand up to her face, touching the redness. "Not quite the way I'm used to," she said mysteriously, "but I accept."

"What's going on?!" Releena demanded, looking at them in pure confusion.

"Nothing that concerns you," Une answered crisply.

From the front seat Hilde called back tentatively, "Ah, we're here."

"Right," the ambassador sighed. The four of them got out of the car, pausing a moment as if expecting another explosion. When everything remained quiet the group headed inside, Hilde trailing along behind them.

"I'd like to stick around for awhile," Hilde offered as they checked in, "just in case something else goes wrong."

"Thanks," Releena sighed.

Juri and Une were pointedly ignoring each other as they went upstairs, her father looked oddly intrigued and she was completely lost. Later on that evening Releena drew her father aside to ask, "You know what's going on between them, I know it."

Her father puffed out a breath, the suite they were sitting in comfortably quiet. "I don't know much," he admitted, and much of it's pure rumor. It seems that there is a certain dueling club, one that both Juri and Une belong to."

"Duels," Releena looked up at her father in shock, "like with swords?" She got to her feet, "We've got to try to stop them."

"I doubt they've started yet," he offered when there was a knock on Releena's door.

Releena walked over to open it, blinking in surprise to see Juri standing there. "Yes?" she asked, eyes widening at the costume Juri was in. It was military styled, a black jacket and red pants along with gleaming black boots.

"It isn't too much, is it?" Juri asked with a slight smile.

"No," Releena smiled, feeling her cheeks warming, "you look good." She shook herself, remembering what her father had just said and asked, "You're really not going to duel her, are you?"

"I have to," Juri answered firmly, one hand reaching to twist the ring that she wore, the rose signet that had once dangled around her neck. She took a breath, "I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to stand as my rosebride in the duel."

"Rosebride?" Releena raised an eyebrow curiously.

"My second, sort of," Juri answered, "you carry my sword for me before the duel starts." She smiled wryly, "I'd feel better having you at my side."

Releena knew she should object, knew she should protest the danger that Juri would be putting herself in... "I'll do it," she surprised herself by saying.

"Thank you," Juri flashed a smile, "we're doing this up on the roof."

Leading Releena from the bedroom she passed her a sheathed sword, one that was heavy in her hands. "You brought a sword on this trip?" Releena asked in surprise.

Juri shrugged as they took the back stairs up, her voice oddly regretful as she said, "I don't know why, but I thought I might need it."

The taller woman opened the door and Releena stepped out in the partial darkness of the roof, a gentle breeze blowing across the tiled surface. Colonel Une stood at the far corner, her hair tied back in it's normal style, a slim rapier at the ready. A rose was in her breast pocket, the color an odd green.

"I'm glad I picked up the rose from the shop downstairs," Juri murmured, holding up the slim orange flower.

Releena reached out to gently take it from her, "Let me." She slid it into Juri's pocket, settling it into place carefully before stepping back, "There."

"Thank you," Juri smiled.

"Are you ready?" Colonel Une asked, her glasses catching the moonlight.

"Let's go," Juri answered.

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Colonel Une watched Juri and Releena step out in the partial darkness of the roof, a gentle breeze blowing across the tiled surface. She stood waiting at the far corner, her brown hair tied back in it's normal style, a slim rapier held at the ready. A rose was in her breast pocket, the color that she had chosen an odd green.

"I'm glad I picked up the rose from the shop downstairs," Juri murmured, holding up the slim orange flower that matched the color of her long hair.

Releena reached out to gently take it from her, "Let me." The brown haired girl slid it into Juri's pocket, settling it into place carefully before stepping back, "There."

"Thank you," Juri smiled.

"Are you ready?" Colonel Une asked as she tried not to smile, her glasses catrching the moonlight as she tilted her head back.

"Let's go," Juri answered.

"Indeed," Une agreed. Without warning she swiftly raced forward, warily watching how Juri would react to her attack.

Juri just stood there silently, a dark figure dressed in black jacket and red pants, calmly waiting for her strike. 'That's the same style that Tenjou Utena once wore,' Une thought, 'does she see herself in that role, now?'

Swords rang as they came together, Juri parrying the first attack with a smooth confidence. She was used to the rapier, Une could instantly tell, handling the slim blade's rapid attacks with easy confidence, the sword she used nearly dancing.

"Be careful, Juri," Releena called breathlessly, her expression fearful.

They seperated a moment, both standing calmly as the breeze blew around them, Une surprised to find herself just a bit breathless. "You're living up to your reputation, Arisugawa," she said, meeting those eyes and seeing a spark of excitement.

"You're not so bad yourself," Juri offered, the slightest of smiles teasing her lips.

Une felt a stab of nervousness, meeting those cool eyes. 'She's so confident,' Une thought, 'sure of her victory.' Une swept forward, sword flashing as she tried a complicated series of feints and attacks, trying to break through the other woman's guard.

Juri was like water, the sword unable to find it's target. She moved her blade so gracefully it almost became a waltz, turning Une's attacks aside with a surprising sort of delicacy. Her footwork was so sure, her ballance nearly perfect as she moved across the rooftop, the wind sending her hair swirling around her shoulders.

'There!' Une lunged for the opening, her sword flashing.

Juri easily captured her blade, pulling the startled Une off balance before swiftly striking out once. Une froze as she felt the tearing, the remains of her rose dropping in a rain of petals to the rough material of the roof as she fell to her knees.

"You're good," Juri sighed, "but you're no Miki, either."

"That's it?" Releena walked forward, looking at the two of them nervously.

"Yes," Juri nodded to Releena with a reassuring smile. She turned and offered Une her gloved hand as she asked, "Are you all right?"

Une brushed it aside, her own hand shaking slightly as she fought to regain her selfcontrol. She got to her feet then met Juri's eyes as she said, "Well done, Arisugawa, you won." She tilted her head back, feeling oddly bereft as she sighed, "I didn't expect to lose."

"I didn't expect it either when Utena defeated me," Juri offered to Une softlly, "but you do get over it, eventually." She looked up, the circular space construct around them dark with the simulated night and added, "Can we get inside, please?"

Une followed Juri and Releea inside, smiling slightly as she saw the younger girl take Juri's arm. Her feet felt heavy as she took the stairs down, wondering what she was going to say to Treize about this, how she was going to tell him. Part of her wanted to be a good loser, shrug her defeat off, but she couldn't quite manage it.

She excused herself then Une returned to her room. Her brown hair fell into her eyes as she fought back her tears, rooting through her luggage before she found what she was looking for. The personal computer was set up first, then she attached the communications modules. She took her glasses off, wiping her eyes, then she set up the connection.

When he came on Treize Khushrenada studied her intently, his short brown hair styled back. He had such a presence about him that Une felt her breath catch, all asgainst her will. He raised an eyebrow, "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon."

"There's been complications," Une said dryly.

Treize seemed to lean forward, his attention now subtlely more focused on what she was saying. "Oh?" he prompted her curiously.

Calmly Une sketched in the details of the explosion at their first hotel, a third party's crude attempt at assassination. She even included details of how Arisugawa had saved her life, helping pull her to relative safety. "I felt that carrying through on our own plans now would be..." she searched for the best word, "imprudent, at this juncture."

"True," Treize nodded. He looked thoughtful, "We knew there was a Colony movement interested in a war, but I didn't believe they were so well organized."

"The White Fang," Une agreed, "a fringe group, though our inteligence indicates that they do have a powerful backer, the Barton family."

"We don't know their entire agenda," Treize mused then came to a decision. "I want you to protect the Ambassador and the others, get them back to Earth safely."

Une looked surprised, "But our other operations...?"

With a ghost of a smile Treize calmly said, "While I'd prefer acting boldly, at times caution is also required." He studied her a moment, "There's something else?"

Une felt a moment of fear but forced herself to say calmly, "I Dueled with Arisugawa, but was unable to defeat her."

"I'm not surprised," Treize said calmly. When Une looked at him in surprise as he continued, "Arisugawa is a dangerous opponent, one that shouldn't be underestimated."

"True," Une admitted, "but I regret in acting without consulting you first, sir." She took a breath, "I would hate to disappoint you."

"You would never disappoint me," Treize flashed a smile. With that he signed off, leaving Une to sit staring at the blank screen.

"I won't fail you, my love," Une sighed.

Colonel Une got up from her seat, quickly dissassembling her communications equipment and stowing it away. She tidied her uiniform unconsciously then headed out, moving down the hall to the other's room. Une rapped on the door, waiting patiently for an answer.

Arisugawa Juri opened her bedroom door, blinking at Une in surprise. She had already undressed, a long nightgown partially covering her beautiful body. "Something I can do for you, Colonel?" she asked with a frown.

Une steeled her will as she quietly said, "I've been ordered to oversee the protection of the Ambassador and his party."

Juri snorted her amusement, "Makes me wonder what your previous orders were."

Une felt her lips lift slightly in amusement, 'She certainly has me pegged.' Aloud she said, "I hope I'll have your cooperation in keeping everyone safe."

"You've got that," Juri nodded firmly, "though I'm surprised that you're standing here asking for my help, Colonel."

Une fought back her iritation, biting off the first thing she wanted to say. "You're capable, I saw that when the explosion went off," Une said coldly. She paused a moment, "This isn't over, between us. I will Duel you again."

"Ready and waiting for you," Juri answered calmly as Une walked away.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

Releena lay there patiently, the brown haired young woman keeping her eyes shut as she waited for the noises to gradually come to a halt. She was a bit surprised to hear the soft murmur of Une and Juri's conversation, the voices recognizable but the words unclear. Finally when things were quiet and still she slipped from her bed, dressing swiftly.

'I know this is a bad idea,' Releena admitted as she silently slipped off down the hallway, 'but I just had to get away for awhile, escape all of the secrets.'

Her father had simply refused to explain what was really going on, even though Releena was sure that he knew more than he was telling. Colonel Une was simply unapproachable, and not just because of her allegiance to the Specials. Une had a cold, almost regal bearing about her at times, one that prevented attempts at making small talk. And Juri...

Releena scowled, the back stairs deserted as she took the slower but safer way down to the street. Juri had met her eyes then, the slightest of smiles appearing on her face as they stood together in the hallway by their rooms. "I'll answer you're questions if you want," Juri had said seriously, "but be sure you really want to know."

"How can I make a decision like that," Releena muttered to herself as she finally reached the street level, "if no one tells me anything?" The light in the colony had been dimmed for the night cycle and the nearby road was deserted as Releena took a walk, lost to her own thoughts until the honk of a horn distracted her.

Hilde smiled gently, the young woman driving the limo that she had first picked Releena and the others up in. "If you don't mind," she said as she flipped her brown hair up out of her eyes, "I have a passenger who would like to speak with you."

"Oh?" Releena asked, readying herself to run.

Seeing Releena's hesitation Hilde quickly added, "I'll guarantee your safety, and you can leave whenever you're ready."

'This is a very stupid idea,' Releena thought as she climbed inside. The interior was dim, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust and make the other figure sitting there visible. He was an old man, his hair long and gray with small, round glasses over his eyes.

"Good evening, Ms. Peacecraft," he said calmly, the slightest of smiles on his face, "my name is unimportant, but you can call me Dr. J."

"I'm sorry sir, but you must have me confused with someone else," Releena shook her head in honest confusion.

Dr. J gestured, revealing that he had a artificial hand and Hilde started the car up. "You are of course aware that you were adopted," he saw the blank look on her face and sighed wearily before muttering to himself, "ah, the things we do to protect the young."

Releena tried to fight the feeling of vertigo she felt, 'Adopted? Mother and father never said...'

Taking a steadying breath she forced herself to speak, "Even assuming I believe you're telling the truth, what does Peacecraft have to do with this?"

He nodded, "You've read about the fall of the peace loving nation of the Sank, and the betrayal that they suffered."

"They were supposed to have been colluding with the colonies," Releena recalled the official story, "and the governments of Earth felt that they had to take action."

"The Peacecraft monarchy were great friends with our leader Heero Yui," he sighed, "but all they sought was peace." He saw her surprise at the name Heero and remarked, "I see you have encountered my young charge, he took the name in respect to the other man."

"I see," Releena murmured then she made them get back on track by pointing out, "But all the Peacecraft family is dead."

"No," he shook his head, "the King and Queen died with their nation, that is true, but the children were rescued by trusted servants. The fate of the eldest son remains a mystery, but we have found the daughter..."

"You can't be serious," Releena made a face, "it sounds like something out of a bad drama. And you expect me to believe that I'm this lost daughter?"

"No, I don't." When she looked at him in surprise he smiled, "I merely expect you to consider what I've said, ask the right questions and accept the answers." He reached into his pocket and drew something forth, "I also have a gift for you."

"That's..." Releena blinked in surprise as he dropped the silver ring in her hand, the rose seal gleaming scarlet in the dim light.

"You are a player in this game," he said to her seriously as the car slid to a stop back in front of the hotel, the side door opening automatically, "but the role that you will choose is your own to decide. Just pick it well."

A moment later Releena found herself standing in the darkness watching the taillights quickly disappear in the distance, her hand still firmly clutching the rose signet she had just been given. 'Could it be true?' she wondered dazedly. She rushed upstairs, grateful that she could slip into her room unnoticed then fell into a restless sleep.

Back in the limo Hilde drove on silently for a moment then she just had to ask him, "Was that really a good idea, sir?"

"Probably not. The attack on them was a surprise to me," he softly admitted, "and to the others in our loose organization. If she is going to be at the center of events young Miss Peacecraft needs to understand the stakes and the role she could play."

"Understood sir," Hilde said with a respectful nod as she pulled over to pick up her replacement, "I just hope we don't regret this later."

"As do I," he agreed.

Hilde got out of the car and walked back towards the hotel, mentally preparing to return to her role as a helpful local guide. 'I'd better keep a close eye on them,' she thought, 'especially if whomever planted that bomb takes another shot. Having a diplomat and OZ colonel die here would not look good at all...' Hilde sighed, 'Were OZ really so willing to sacrifice their own soldier, or is there a third party involved in our little conflict?'

Far away from the young lady's troubled thoughts fires raged as explosions blossomed through the refueling center in North America, flammable liquids quickly reaching the ignition point. The armored figure watched a moment, the twin guns mounted on it's arms ready, then the lanky red and blue colored mobile suit moved off.

"Another mission completed," Trowa Barton murmured, his brown hair falling oddly towards his remote eyes. He was oddly expressionless as he moved off through the wreckage of OZ suits, studying the monitors even as he trudged on.

Text streamed across the glowing screen, detailing yet another mission to the cold yet dangerously efficient young pilot. A prototype mobile suit being tested, technology that must be destroyed and also reasonably nearby.

The Gundam called Heavyarms moved silently through the night, concealing it's presence with surprising ease. Trowa had learned well the conditions on Earth in the past few weeks and knew how to use the features to his fullest advantage. He had even found a job, as a performer in a circus, one of the few distractions he allowed himself from the task at hand.

'Catherine,' Trowa thought as the image of the knife thrower appeared before his mind's eye, the beautiful girl who treated him with such kindness. He made himself clear his head as he muttered, "There's work to be done."

Concealing the Gundam in the forest he went on ahead on foot, Trowa easily hiding his presence as he carefully approached the target. Crawling forward through damp earth he reached the top of a rise and brought the binoculars to his eyes only to freeze in surprise.

"Gundams?!" Trowa blurted softly.

A closer scan revealed all the differences, but Trowa felt a chill in his bones. There weren't test models that were patrolling outside the facility below him, they were working models. One resembled a Leo, a armored knight painted in black and red while the other had a more elegant look, a larger shield unit and a chain-unit attached to the arm.

'They look like the Tallgeese that's been operating in Europe,' Trowa noted. 'I doubt they're built with Gundanium,' he thought as he recorded all the details of the suits and the site that he could, 'but if their performance is even close to our Gundams' abilities I don't dare rush in there on my own. I'm going to need help...'

With that disturbing thought in mind Trowa slipped away, racing to return to his Gundam in case the enemy discovered it. "Though even with it," he murmured, "I could be in trouble."

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

The morning came, and with it the meat of the trip: a series of diplomatic meetings. From private offices to government buildings Ambassador Dornlan patiently explained his stance, trying to convince the undecided or unwilling. Not normal was the ladies presence, his daughter and the others trailing along for their own safety.

"The colonies should not take up a military posture," Ambassador Dornlan said seriously as he stood in the council hall, "or they will be providing just the sort of provocation that could start a war." The brown haired diplomat took a breath before saying, "Give some time for those that want peace on Earth to work."

'They aren't listening,' Juri thought as she sat in the visitors section along with Hilde, Releena and Colonel Une, 'and even worse, they're looking at him like he's some kind of crackpot.'

"Mr. Ambassador," one of the older men looked amused, "the colonies have never had a military, nor do we plan one."

"Yes, Gundams were launched from the colonies," a young, vaguely weasel like man offered, "but it was done without official permission."

"If it was official or not won't matter," Dornlan looked like he was trying to be patient and failing, "it will merely serve as a pretext. The colonies must follow the examples of their peaceful past and the rulers of the Sank and..."

"Die," Juri murmured softly.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as eyes turned to her, Juri's voice carrying far more than the orange haired girl had intended. The Ambassador looked seriously annoyed at the interruption while the colony representatives were all studying her thoughtfully.

"And you are?" the first man asked crisply.

"My apologies, I shouldn't have did that," she smiled wryly as she continued, "and my name is Arisugawa Juri."

"So what's your opinion on this, Miss Arisugawa?" an older woman on the council leaned forward to ask her curiously.

Juri hesitated, 'Is saying this worth the sort of trouble I could get into? Yes.' She took a deep breath, "I hold great respect for the Ambassador and his principles, but I think they're simplistic." Juri deliberately didn't look towards Releena or her father as she continued, "Appeasement didn't work with Germany or during the Global Wars, I doubt it will work now."

"No one has spoken of war," the weasel remarked.

"They're certainly talking about it on Earth," Juri shot back. She smiled grimly, "There's a strong war movement on Earth, sponsored by a very powerful patron."

"Romafeller," Someone quietly murmured.

"Who in turn draws much of it's financing from companies that produce the Mobile Suits and other arms," Juri nodded gravely. She felt Une stiffen and fought back a smile as she thought, 'What, you thought that no one would put the pieces together?'

"I object to any such insinuations," Une sputtered.

Another councilor, a younger man raised a hand to silence Une while looking over at Juri thoughtfully. "Even assuming this is true," he said, "what would we do about it?"

"You have one untapped military resource," Juri answered simply, "the Gundams and the people who created them. Contact the scientist and the manufacturers even as you bring the Gundams home, as some kind of peacekeeping force."

"Stop the attacks on OZ?" the first councilor murmured.

"Use the Gundams defensively, make the Specials attack you first," Juri continued, "it puts you in a better position, both diplomatically and tactically." She smiled grimly, "And if it does come down to a war, you'll have your forces gathered and ready."

There was a babble of conversation between the councilors, voices over lapping each other then the chairman got control. "Thank you for your comments," he looked around at the people at the table, "I think we'll call a halt for the day."

The group filed out, Juri looked up at the Ambassador nervously. Oddly the brown haired man was smiling slightly, his expression oddly contemplative. "You cut my legs right out from under me in there," he finally noted.

"I didn't want to lie," Juri answered him calmly, "and I figured that they could make up their own minds, given the facts."

"You really think that pacifism is simplistic?" Dornlan asked.

Juri shrugged uncomfortably. "In a finer, more noble world it could work," she answered, "but not in the world we're living in now."

"Hmm," Dornlan looked thoughtful, "then maybe we need to change the world." With that he excused himself, speeding up to walk beside Une.

"Was all that about the Specials and Romafeller true?" Releena asked. The brown haired young woman looked oddly serious, somehow, and Juri hoped that what happened last night hadn't been the cause. Even stranger was the gold chain that Releena had begun wearing around her neck, something round dangling from it beneath her shirt...

"I did some research on them after the fire at Ohtori and the charges were dismissed," Juri had a haunted look in her eyes as she answered, "it took some digging but the information was there, if you knew exactly where to look."

"I'm sorry," Releena put her hand on Juri's arm and squeezed it comfortingly.

"I'm getting over it," Juri said, forcing a smile. Changing the subject she said, "Is it true your father is cutting this mission short?"

"Mission?" Releena smiled quizzically. When Juri didn't answer she continued, "The Earth government is, yes, they feel the threat of further terrorist attacks is too great."

"Huh," Juri grunted. 'I meant to look into Heero Yui while I was here,' she thought, 'but so far I've found nothing, looks like it was an alias.'

"Disappointed?" Releena asked.

"Sort of," Juri admitted honestly. She smiled slightly as she looked over at Hilde, "Except for the terrorist attack, everyone's been pretty friendly."

"Thank you." Hilde smiled wryly, her short brown hair a touch messy.

"Can you escort everyone back to the hotel?" Juri asked Hilde, "I need to run an errand, if we are going to be leaving soon."

"Where are you going?" Hilde asked.

"I wanted to visit the grave site of your former leader Heero Yui," Juri said calmly, "I thought I should pay my respects."

"Strange," Releena murmured, "that he and our classmate are both named Heero."

"Excuse me," Juri headed off with a steady stride.

The trip across the city was remarkably easy, and again she found herself noting how pleasant most of the people in the colony were. Obviously they were a bit wary of a strange face, but they willingly offered directions or assistance as needed. The colony was a large structure, yet also oddly confined floating there in the void of space.

The marker there was a simple one, the name Heero Yui and dates, much like the ones on Earth. Juri stood there a moment, her simple dress flowing around her as she thought of the young man she had slain back on Earth. 'This isn't your grave,' she mused, 'but I'm hoping you rest in peace, wherever you are now.'

"Miss Arisugawa," the quiet voice said.

"Yes?" Juri answered calmly. She had seen the old man walking nearby, his hair long and gray with small, round glasses over his eyes. One of his hands was gone, replaced with an artificial limb, and he seemed to bear the weight of a great responsibility.

"My name is Dr. J," he nodded, "and it was quite the bold suggestion you made before the colony council today."

Juri turned, her long orange hair blowing in the artificially generated breeze. "I won't ask how you know about that," she said mildly. She took a breath, "Just attacking OZ won't prevent a war, you have to get their backers, too. Not to mention the politicians who support such foolishness."

"There are those who support war here, too," Dr. J noted.

"One thing at a time," Juri answered softly.

"We were both familiar with the young man who carried that name," he nodded to Heero Yui's grave, "and I understand you inherited something that once belonged to him."

'Who is this man?' Juri wondered. "It's possible," she answered cautiously.

He smiled, "I think Heero would have approved." Dr. J looked deadly serious, "Things are about to become very exiting on Earth, you had best be ready."

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 15

The military facility was nearly empty, the buildings silent and deserted as the lieutenant looked around her before the black haired woman nodded to herself in satisfaction. Noin turned, walked outside to where the large transport jet patiently waited and climbed up the stairs, smiling slightly as she nodded to the pilot, "Let's go.".

"I wish we didn't have to leave this facility behind," Sally Po said softly, the brown haired woman sitting in one of the chairs.

Noin climbed into the other seat in the mobile suit transport, strapping herself in with easy confidence. "It's partially for operational security," she said as the plane shuddered and began to roll forward, "and it looks like we might be ready to begin operations soon."

With a thump they left the ground, the windows showing the other planes rising with them. "We'd best know how easy it is to transport the new Tallgeese models," Sally agreed, tossing a look towards the back where the mobile suits were.

Designated the Tallgeese II Noin's mobile suit had been kept to the same basic configuration as Zech's, with the heavy cannon and beam saber the suit's primary weapons. The variations in the designs were in the shield, which was both larger and triangular and in the color scheme, done in red with a bit of black. Along with it was Sally's modified Leo, both of them carrying the stylized rose emblem of their new unit.

"I'm still not quite clear why we have a rose for a emblem," Noin remarked.

"It came from the top," Sally shrugged, "from Treise himself." She looked at the signet ring that Noin wore, "And it matches that, too."

"Dorothy doesn't seem to mind," Noin conceded. She frowned slightly, "I wish the techs hadn't had to sacrifice her shield unit to mount that chain whip Dorothy wanted."

"From what the tech boys tell me, the suit's speed and maneuverability should help compensate," Sally offered. She smiled slightly at her commanding officer, "Not to mention the fact we were able to switch the old shield over to Lady Une's suit."

"True enough," Noin agreed, "and I guess that isn't what is really bothering me."

"Oh?" Sally leaned forward in her chair to look intently at Noin.

Noin looked vaguely troubled, "Dorothy wasn't just ruthless in the latest simulator runs, she was nearly blood thirsty." She shook her head grimly, "To stop a Gundam she was perfectly willing to slaughter our own troops, sacrificing them cold bloodedly."

"Dorothy wouldn't sacrifice a fellow Tallgeese pilot," Sally offered tentatively.

Noin's lips pressed together into a straight line, her brown eyes narrowing. "It shouldn't matter if it's a Tallgeese pilot or not," she shot back, "we're all soldiers." She shook herself, trying to restrain her temper, "Sorry, I just keep thinking of my trainees and what might happen to them if Dorothy decides to use them just for cannon-fodder."

Sally sighed but had to nod in agreement. "We can't remove her as a pilot, either," she said, "Dorothy has far too much influence for that."

"Tell me about it," Noin made a face, "it's just another thing that annoys me. The whole situation is so damn political it's not funny."

"There is some wisdom in completing all five Tallgeese suits before fielding them against the Gundams," Sally pointed out reasonably.

Noin snorted. "No, it's a publicity coup for Romafeller," she said dryly, "they want it to be a media event when the debut all five suits."

Sally looked like she wanted to say something, but firmly kept her mouth shut.

Noin looked amused as she said, "You have been around me enough by now to know you can speak freely."

"It is a new experience, ma'am," Sally said wryly.

"Fair enough," Noin conceded.

The Specials were a very unique military organization, but like all armies they had issues of order and discipline. While speaking out about an issue wasn't discouraged, saying the wrong thing in front of a commander could be bad for one's career. Therefore a young officer tended to get to know their commander before expressing an opinion.

"I was just going to say that it's kind of ironic that the weapon's manufacturers involved with Romafeller are touting the Tallgeese," Sally said to her wryly, "considering that it's based on much older technology."

"True enough," Noin agreed. She tilted her head to the side, "It's not really my area, but I was wondering if you were able to find any of the engineers who helped design the Tallgeese?"

"No luck in finding them," Sally looked mildly peeved, "the six main engineers who were involved seem to have disappeared off the face of the Earth."

Noin had the oddest look on her face, "Off the face of the Earth...?"

"Ma'am?" Sally looked at her worriedly.

"It just hit me," Noin said softly, leaning forward as much as the seat belts allowed. "The Tallgeese was an early design Mobile Suit, one abandoned because of it's size and power," she said eagerly, "now compare it to the Gundams, who match or exceed it in size and power."

It took Sally only a moment to see where her commanding officer was going with this. "You think the engineers who created Tallgeese designed the Gundams?" she asked breathlessly. It was clear her thoughts were racing as she said, "The visual elements of the designs are similar..."

"It's a theory, anyway," Noin made herself calm down, though it wasn't easy. She took a breath, "Can your people get a hold of the engineers' records, see if we can find out if one or more of them migrated to the colonies over the years?"

"I'll have people look onto it as soon as possible," Sally smiled at Noin eagerly, "and I can guess how this information might help us. Any flaws or weaknesses we discover in the Tallgeese might be echoed in the Gundams."

"It is just a theory," Noin hastened to caution her, "let's not get too wedded to the idea, just in case." Her answering smile was devilish as she continued, "But yes, that is the general idea."

Meanwhile, in one of the other transport planes Dorothy Catalonia took a small earplug out, coiling it's cable up and putting it away with a compact listening device. Bugging the other plane had been merely a precaution, but it seemed to have paid off for the regal blonde.

"Trouble?" Tubarov asked his niece warily. He had played the game of intrigue for many years and considered himself to be a good player, but Dorothy had quickly demonstrated superior skills in that area. Her ruthlessness seemed to hold no bounds, as did her ambition.

"No, an opportunity," Dorothy answered smoothly. She smiled at the balding man as she said, "It seems that Noin has finally deduced what we already knew, the connection between the Gundams and our Tallgeese."

"Our people have several weeks head start in finding them," Tubarov said confidently, "we'll have the engineers in hand first."

"Don't be overconfident," Dorothy's eyes flashed angrily, "they will have all the official resources of the Specials behind their search." She drummed her fingers on the arm of her seat, "Have your people plant some red herrings, just in case."

"Does Mr. Treise really need these scientists so much?" Tubarov asked her as he hurried to use a satellite connection radio to send out the messages.

"I'm confident that the Tallgeese ca face the Gundams on even terms," Dorothy said smoothly, "but we have no idea what advancements the colonies have held in reserve. If Mr. Treise is going to compete in the Duels, he'll need a unique mobile suit."

"A Gundam," Tubarov mused, "on our side?"

"Exactly," Dorothy smiled unpleasantly.

As the mobile suit transport flew onward Dorothy sat back as she considered what else she had heard. She hadn't expected her actions in the simulator to bother Noin and Sally Po so much, and she silently resolved to tone it down in her training. Not that she'd change how she acted in the field, but maintaining the illusion of a friendly relationship was a must.

'When the time comes to finally defeat all my fellow Duelists,' Dorothy smiled to herself, 'I want it to be completely unexpected.'

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

It was an odd moment at the colony's shuttlebay as they made their farewells, the diplomatic maneuvers continuing on right up to the final moments. "He never gives up, does he?" Hilde murmured, her short hair ruffled by the artificial breeze.

"Father is quite stubborn that way," Releena agreed, her long brown hair flowing away from her face. She smiled wryly at Hilde as she gently said, "I wanted to say thank you for all of your help, even if the others forget."

Hilde shrugged slightly, "Just doing my job, sorta." She studied Releena a moment before dropping her voice, "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

Releena felt her fingers go to the rose signet she now wore on a chain around her neck. "I don't know," she admitted, "whatever seems necessary at the time."

"Good enough," Hilde smiled slightly. She looked over to where Juri and Une stood stiffly, staring at each other with deadly intensity. "Hope you don't have any trouble with them on the way home," she said wryly.

Releena rolled her eyes as she sighed out, "I just pray that they have seats on opposite sides of the shuttle home."

Juri's orange hair flowed free, the curls flowing around her face as she studied the military officer in front of her. "Are you going to keep our agreement?" she asked softly, all of them waiting uncomfortably for the signal to board.

Colonel Une nodded jerkily, her glasses gleaming and her hair pulled back in a ruthless bun. "Releena will be protected, Arisugawa," Une pushed up her glasses with a white gloved hand as she agreed irritably, "though I promise nothing in regards to you."

"I wasn't expecting anything else," Juri answered her mildly. She paused a second, "When you're ready to face me again, I'll be waiting."

Une met her eyes, her glasses glinting in the reflected light. "I'll be looking forward to that," and there was a odd gentleness in Une's voice.

Juri watched Une walk up the boarding ramp before shaking her head slightly, wondering where that came from. From just behind her a grim voice said, "I hope you'll be ready to take responsibility for what you've done."

Turning Juri saw the Ambassador standing there, his suit as crisp as when they first came there. "How so?" Juri asked mildly.

Dornlan frowned down at her as he said accusingly, "The colonies seem far closer to adopting a military posture than ever before."

"If the words of one young woman can sway the leaders of the colonies that easily," eyes flashing Juri shot back in a rare display of anger, "then they must have been damn near to making that choice anyway." She paused before a final cut, "Especially considering the actions that your own government has taken with them."

The older man sighed, seemingly unable to reply to that statement. "The only chance we have for peace is for both sides to talk," Dornlan said tiredly, "and the way things are going we'll not be talking any time soon."

Walking in a loose group Juri, Releena ad her father went into the shuttle, taking seats in one side while Une and her assistants took another. The baggage was stowed away and with a surprising degree of gentleness the shuttle was launched from the colony.

"But maybe," Releena offered softly, "the time for talking is over?"

"You too?" her father smiled wryly.

Releena shrugged gracefully, her eyes gentle as she looked up at her father, "Daddy, I know you believe in what you're saying... but the world may not be ready for peace."

"I'll never believe that," Dornlan said honestly.

Juri bit back the first reply that came to mind, choosing something a bit more tactful. "I honestly hope you're right," she said calmly, "but I don't think so."

After a while the ambassador moved off, choosing to set a seat back and try to rest up as they headed back towards the Earth. "What would you do," Releena asked softly, "if you found out something... disturbing about yourself?"

Juri blinked in surprise, looking at Releena and wondering where that question had come from. "It happened to me once," Juri said, remembering how frightening her early attraction to Shiori had been, "I learned to accept it, eventually."

"I'm not so sure how easy this is going to be to accept," Releena murmured. She looked up at Juri, her expression oddly lost, "Someone has claimed I might be adopted."

Without thinking about it Juri let a hand rest on the other girl's arm. "Do you believe him or her?" she asked gently.

"I shouldn't believe it," Releena said, "I don't really know anything about him."

"But it bothers you?" Juri asked quietly.

"Hmm," Releena nodded reluctantly. "It's not that my parents have ever treated me with anything but love," she explained, "but I've always felt slightly... apart, somehow."

"Being adopted wouldn't necessarily do that to you," Juri mused, "I felt apart in my home and I knew we were related by blood."

Releena smiled faintly, "A good point."

Juri studied Releena, trying to read the thoughts behind that attractive face. "Do you want to try asking your parents?"

"God no," Releena visibly shuddered. "I don't know what would scare me more, their answering no... or yes," she sighed.

Seeing the girl's distress Juri hesitantly slid an arm across her shoulders, drawing her close. "Whatever you need to do," she found herself saying, "I'll be here to help."

"Thank you," Releena sighed, laying her head on Juri's shoulder.

Colonel Une watched from across the aisle, observing the two women sitting together. 'I can't believe that they're doing such a thing inn public,' was the first thought, then she almost had to laugh at herself. 'There's only us on the plane, after all.'

A soft chirping sound brought her attention to her waiting laptop and she opened up her military email program, reviewing her newest files. Treise had sent her a short missive, saying that he was looking forward to her coming home. There were also updates on several projects she was involved with, one of which caught her eye.

Clicking on a message titled 'Tallgeese' Une smiled slightly, running through the update that Sally Po had sent her. "We've prepared a modified Tallgeese as per your instructions," Sally wrote, "in your personal colors. We'll need you there for the debut in a few weeks."

Une quickly composed a reply, "I'm returning to Earth now, Sally. The diplomatic mission has been a bust, but on the plus side there's more ammunition for the public relations corps." In a chatty, friendly tone that would have surprised those that knew her she summarized the public aspects of the mission even as she considered what was coming.

Une, Noin, Zechs and Dorothy were so far the pilots in the Tallgeese corps, intended to serve as a public counter to the Gundams that were attacking OZ. Personally she had doubts about the antiquated technology, but both Treise and Zechs supported it.

'Which means I had best go along,' Une thought.

The difficulty was not going to be finding a fifth qualified pilot but instead choosing from the many Oz pilots that could do the job. More importantly the pilot would have to be able to work with the wing, coordinate smoothly in attack and defense.

'Noin has taken Sally on as her wingman,' Une thought of an earlier message Sally had sent to her, "I wonder if our good doctor would be interested in piloting a Tallgeese as well?'

More importantly Une tried to keep any speculation as to anything else Sally and Noin might be doing out of her racing thoughts. The hero worship in Sally's last letter had been almost unmistakable, and the frank adoration that the normally controlled doctor had shown towards Noin was nearly sickening to Une.

Looking up Une saw Releena and Juri still sitting so closely together and had to look away. 'Why does this bother me?' she wondered.

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book two of this series will start in a few weeks, the only difference being a slight jump forward in time. Be prepared for some changes, but the cast will largely still be the same.

Trowa Barton fought back his annoyance as he gazed at the now deserted facility, only the standard mobile suits of the specials below them. He pushed his angular brown hair back smoothly as he calmly remarked, "We're too late."

The blonde haired young man nodded glumly, his elegant clothes and manner making him stand out oddly beside the other boy. "I think you're right," Quatre Winner agreed, his usual aviator's goggles gleaming.

Trowa's expression was grim as he considered the situation. He had contacted the other pilots in hope of attacking this facility in force, but only Quatre had been able to respond in time. Even worse, they had discovered that the advanced mobile suits here had all been removed, ferried off to a unknown location.

"We should have expected OZ to develop a counter to the Gundams," Quatre added, "but I never thought they'd move so fast."

"We knew the technology was out there," Trowa shrugged. The two young man silently stalked away from the facility, heading back to where their Gundams had been concealed. Grimly he continued, "We'll destroy the facility and whatever research is still there, of course, but I doubt it'll do much good."

Quatre gracefully moved through the brush, ducking beneath a branch. "Did you receive the message from the colonies?" he asked softly.

Trowa nodded to him seriously, his own eyes serious. "The colonies have asked us to return," he confirmed, "though I don't know why."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Quatre agreed, the two young men reaching the massive shapes concealed beneath forest green netting.

A few days later and in another part of the world Colonel Une saluted, her uniform crisp as usual, round glasses gleaming. "And so this concludes my report," she calmly finished, brown hair mercilessly pulled back from her face.

"Good work," Treize Khushrenada nodded, his blue colored uniform as stylish as usual. His brown hair was casually swept back, the style adding to his powerful presence.

"Sir?" Une looked confused, "I failed in my primary mission."

"But you did provide us with an essential piece of information," Treize calmly pointed out. He folded his hands together, rose signet ring gleaming, "We know that Arisugawa Juri is indeed still a player in the dueling game."

"Ah," Une's eyes widened, then she smiled reluctantly.

"What's your impression?" Treize asked quietly.

Une paused, considering the question a moment. "Very capable both as a swordswoman and as a person," she said, "impressively charismatic. She has a surprising degree of influence on those around her..."

"I saw the transcript of the colony meeting you included," Treize agreed. He leaned forward, "Which way are they going to jump?"

"War," Une answered him frankly. "We've pushed the colonies with annexation of several of their numbers, as well as using political pressure on them," she said quietly.

There was a thoughtful nod as Treize looked off in the distance. "Any new reports on the Gundams' movements?" he asked.

"Two of the Gundams have seized orbital vessels and left the Earth for the colonies," Une answered, "I think we can expect the others to do so soon."

"We'll need to move up the debut of the Tallgeese Wing," Treize noted, "before the impact is lost." He looked at reports thoughtfully, "Do we have a fifth pilot?"

"I believe that Sally Po has agreed to do so," Une said, consciously not choosing to mention the closeness that she had noted between Sally and Noin. It wasn't relevant, and nothing that she could confirm anyway.

"I know that Dorothy is looking forward to this," Treize added, a faintly approving smile on his handsome face.

Une steeled her expression, hiding her first reaction. The ambition of Dorothy Catalonia worried her, in all honesty, as did her essentially treacherous nature. The idea of having her as Une's wingman made her skin crawl, but there was little choice. "I look forward to serving with them," Une answered firmly.

Treize chuckled softly. "Zechs will be in overall command due to his experience with the Tallgeese," he revealed, "though you will be the ranking officer in relation to other units. The internal structure will be determined by you and Zechs."

"Then I suspect that Zechs and Noin will be in overall command," Une said promptly, "with Dorothy, Sally and I following."

"You're willing to take a secondary role?" Treize raised a eyebrow.

"I'm a good pilot," Une answered frankly, "but I'm well aware that I am not of their rank, sir." She hesitated, "And I was surprised to loose a duel to Arisugawa."

"I wondered when you were going to mention that," Treize said. He gave her a gentle smile, "Remember, she was one of the best duelists in Ohtori."

"It still bothers me," Une raised her chin with pride, "and I am determined to defeat her the next time we meet."

Arisugawa Juri felt a chill as she walked across the campus, school bag slung casually over her shoulder. Her black schoolboy's uniform hugged her slim form, her long orange hair bold as she strode through the sunlight.

"Arisugawa-san," Releena walked up to her, gracefully falling into step along the walkway. Her eyes twinkled in amusement as she added, "I see your adoring fans haven't died off with your visit to the colonies."

Juri rolled her eyes at that comment. The route that she took to school was lined with boys and girls, all of them lingering to give her a wave or to cheerfully wish her a good morning. "I was sort of hoping they would die off," Juri sighed. She gave Releena a scolding look, "And I suspect some of them are your fans, too."

"True enough," Releena conceded, seemingly unbothered by the idea. She looked up at Juri, "You heard the news?"

"The colonies are holding a press conference today," Juri confirmed.

What Juri didn't mention was the order that had showed up on her Gundam's communication's gear. She had been using the hidden suit in simulator mode, honing her skills, when the system abruptly shut down, communication's activating. The text message was short and to the point, "Return home, await further instructions."

'Of course my getting the Wing Gundam home isn't going to be easy,' Juri mused.

"What do you think they're going to announce?" Releena asked Juri, her long brown hair falling gracefully over her shoulders. "You don't think they're going to...?" she trailed off, unable to bring herself to say the words.

"I don't know," Juri shrugged a bit uncomfortably, knowing what the girl wanted to say. "Has your father said anything?" she asked.

"No," Releena shook her head, "but he doesn't look happy."

'Understandably,' Juri thought. The older man had worked to try to broker a peace treaty between the colonies and Earth, to ease the growing tensions, but ultimately he had been unsuccessful. Juri felt a flash of guilt, knowing that in no small part her own words had played a role.

"It's not your fault, Juri," Releena said, putting her hand on her arm and squeezing gently, "you just told the truth as you saw it."

"Maybe," Juri admitted, "but I certainly didn't help."

They filed into the buildings together, students streaming in around them when the public address system for the campus activated. There was a simple ringing tone, first, one that inspired them all to be quiet, then they heard the principal's grim tone. "I regretfully must report," he rumbled, "that the colonies have formally declared war with the Earth nations."

"Oh no," Releena managed weakly.

Juri held on to Releena's hand unconsciously, squeezing it for comfort. There were no words of comfort that she could give right now, none that would matter anyway. She knew everything had changed for them this morning, and for the world. A period of uneasy peace was over, the era of wars had begun again.

End, Book One.

 


	18. Chapter 18: Book 2 Start

There was no sound in space as the mobile suits came together in a flash of energy, weapons discharging in the eerie silence, lunging and dancing in a deadly ballet. Wing Gundam stopped gracefully on it's thrusters, the mostly white, red and blue suit hovering there not far from the colony, then it raced forward again at the Leos with it's beam saber alight.

The blocky looking mobile suits were piloted with skill, the officers inside some of the best of OZ's space force, but Wing Gundam was better. It attacked with unearthly skill to disable the four suits and ultimately leave them hanging there in space, floating above the colony they had attempted to launch a surprise assault against.

Within the Gundam's cockpit Arisugawa Juri felt her breath slowly calming, the pure black flightsuit she wore making her orange hair glow even brighter in the green lights from her control panel. 'It gets a little easier every time,' she mused, reaching up to activate her suit's radio. "This is Arisugawa," she said crisply, "I've got four suits and pilots to be recovered in section twelve, please. Let Howard and his boys know, too."

"I'm sure the engineers will appreciate four more suits to repair for the colony resistance," Hilde's voice was amused. "The captain was wondering if you'd be coming in, yet?" she asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

"As soon as I finish my patrol sweep," Juri answered her, signing off. With that she returned to her patrol, the Gundam shining against the inky blackness of space. Juri smiled to herself wryly as they flew, 'It's been such a crazy few months, I almost can't believe I'm out here, now.'

After the open declaration of hostilities between the space colonies and Earth's government, a recall order had been sent out to all the Gundams, asking them to assist with the colony defense. Juri quickly made her decision where her loyalties lay and threw in her lot in with the colonies, taking out the Wing Gundam in battle for the very first time. She assisted two of the four other Gundams in acquiring space transport, then she discovered that the 'bird' mode of the Wing Gundam was in fact space launch capable.

'Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing when I got here,' Juri mused, her Gundam coasting by a band of the refit Mobile Suits that were stationed by the colony.

There had been a real debate among the colony leadership over if she should keep the Wing Gundam, not to mention questioning Juri's own loyalties. Of course her past enmity with OZ helped relieve their fears a bit, and Duo Maxwell and Dr. J were both willing to speak up for her. Quatre Winner was cautiously friendly towards her, Trowa Barton was mostly neutral and Wu Fei Cheng completely distrusted her. Not that Wu Fei seemed to have much use for any of the other pilots, but he really had issues towards her.

A soft chime reminded Juri her shift was over, and with a gentle twist of her wrist she turned her Gundam around, thrusters carrying her forward to the colony. The outer ring slowly grew in her viewscreen, then she shifted her course slightly to head for the open docking bay, the lights a warm beacon to her in the depths of space. Landing a bit roughly in the sudden return of gravity she maneuvered her Gundam to it's cradle, smiling as she saw the maintenance crew rushing to their positions all around it even as they bay doors closed. She climbed out the hatch and walked along the catwalk to a airlock, cycling through to get access to the colony itself.

As Juri took off her helmet she heard a voice call out to her, "Lieutenant!"

Juri looked around curiously, then realized he was calling to her. "Yes," she turned, silently wondering when she'd get used to her new rank.

Not that the colony defense forces had ranks at first, things had been wildly chaotic at first. There really hadn't been much planning when the colonies made the decision to openly declare hostilities with Earth, and the fear of similarities to OZ and the Earth's military slowed them down even more. Still, they had quickly realized that some kind of structure was needed, and by necessity the Gundam pilots got bumped up pretty fast.

"Lieutenant Arisugawa," the young man nodded, his insignia marking him as a engineering officer, "the chief asked me to convey his thanks."

Juri chuckled, "Actually from what I've heard I bet Howard is probably bitching that I'm piling even more work on him and his boys and would I stop being so damn gung-ho capturing suits." She grinned at him, "How close was that?"

He blinked at her, "Pretty much word for word, ma'am."

"I'm sorry for increasing his workload," Juri said as she casually unbuttoned to top of her flight suit, "but we need as many Mobile Suits as possible operational."

"Yes, ma'am," the brown haired young man nodded. He had to hurry to keep pace, "Commander Hilde is holding a meeting later with the new diplomat, she asked Harold to remind you that she'd like you to attend."

"I'll do that," Juri agreed, her gaze softening. She nodded as they reached her quarters, "Thank you for delivering the message, Scott."

"You're welcome, ma'am," he saluted then Scott was off.

Entering her room Juri sighed in relief as she stripped her flightsuit off, stepping nude into the sonic cleanser and briskly cleaning hours of sweat from her body. Toweling off she laid a new flightsuit out on the bed if needed, then pulled on one of the new Defense Force uniforms. A simple gray it carried her name, rank insignia and the shoulder patch indicating she was a mobile suit pilot.

"And why the rose crest?" Juri murmured, reaching up to touch the rose that was a central part of the patch. It was one of many things Juri was trying to get to the bottom of, much like the rose signets that the Gundam pilots all wore. She had felt a chill when she first saw them, and found herself wondering if the OZ pilots had more duelists there, too, like Colonel Une.

The halls of the colony were busy as usual when Juri headed out again later, determined to make her next appointment. She headed down the hall to the elevators then took them up several levels, reaching what had been designed as a administrative section for the massive structure. Finding the proper room she knocked, then went inside.

Commander Hilde looked up as she entered, the brown haired young woman's face lighting up in a smile. "Welcome," she smiled, "and good work today, by the way."

"Thank you," Juri smiled slightly.

In charge of the mobile suit pilots Hilde was Juri's superior officer, but it was a complex relationship. Hilde was nearly the same age as Juri and a fine pilot herself, as such she was well aware of the sort of personalities it took to be a pilot. She kept them in line without riding them too hard, as well as getting results for the colony leadership. It was a difficult tightrope to walk, and Juri didn't envy Hilde in the slightest.

"Anything interesting in our latest acquisitions?" Juri asked as Hilde casually waved her over to a seat at the table.

"Standard Leos," Hilde said as she sat, too, "and young pilots."

Juri shrugged, "I guess it's to be expected, Treise knows he can't waste his aces against us when he also has to be worried about defending Fortress Barge."

"I thought that was what he was saving his Tallgeese wing for," Hilde said dryly.

"Too bad he's down two pilots," Juri added. A grim little smile, "Have Noin or Po decided to talk to us, yet?"

"Not a word," Hilde sighed, "just name, rank and serial number."

Juri shook her head, "I still can't believe their own pilot shot them in the back during Treise's attempted big push."

Earth had launched a powerful force from Fortress Barge shortly after Juri had arrived, as many Leos as they could scrape together lead by three of the Tallgeese, and tried to overwhelm the defenders. The Gundams, Hilde, and every suit they could muster went out to meet them in space, and they were only barely able to stop them. And in the chaos, two of the Tallgeese were shot by their comrade, the devastating shots coming from a completely unexpected direction. The pilots would probably have died if Juri and the Gundams hadn't dragged back the wrecked Tallgeese units, if only to use them for spare parts."

"Noin did relent and tell us who probably shot them," Hilde said and as Juri looked at her attentively she added, "Dorothy Catalonia."

"Dorothy..." Juri frowned, trying to place the name. She finally just smiled grimly, "I'll have to remember that name."

There was a knock on the door and Hilde called, "Enter."

The young woman who entered wore a simple but elegant suit, just the thing for a diplomat, and Juri recognized her almost immediately. The long brown hair was tied back in a braid, she moved with a sure and confident step, but there really hadn't been much change since Juri had last seen her.

"Commander," Releena said then smiled warmly, "Juri."

"Ambassador Peacecraft," Hilde smiled devilishly as she looked towards Juri, "I believe you two have met?"

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

Sally Po pushed brown hair out of her eyes, leaning up against the wall of the small room that had been converted into a cell for both her and her companion. "What do you think they're going to do?" she asked softly, her plain jumpsuit spotlessly clean.

The black haired woman looked up from where she turned the gleaming rose signet on her finger, her expression grave, "Wish I knew, Sally." Lt. Noin smiled faintly, her eyes gentle, "You know, you don't need to be here."

"I'm not taking an offer from them if you don't ma'am," Sally said firmly.

"Just Noin, here," she sighed. A faint smile, "Or if you must, Lucrenzia."

"Eh?" Sally blinked.

Noin sat up on the bunk, her expression amused, "My hated first name. You can guess why I prefer just Noin."

"It's not that bad," Sally said diplomatically.

Noin laughed softly, her eyes twinkling. "Oh yes it is," she said mildly. "And how do you shorten it? The best you can do is Lucy, and I certainly don't look like a Lucy..."

"Oh, I don't know...," Sally teased her softly, the two exchanging a warm smile. There was a moment of silence as they sat there, then Sally sighed softly and asked a question on both of their minds, "What do we do about Dorothy?"

"When we get out of here, I'm going to track her down and kill her," Noin's voice was suddenly ice cold, much like her eyes.

"Noin?" Sally actually looked startled.

"I knew Catalonia was ambitious," Noin said grimly, "I was nervous about having her at our backs from the start." A pause, "But after she crippled our suits she could have just moved on... instead, she put additional rounds in our suits intending to kill us."

"I thought so," Sally conceded softly. She met Noin's eyes, "You know she's going to have a cover story in place if we turn up again."

Noin nodded but said, "I don't care. I am not willing to let her get away with betraying us.. or trying to kill you."

A faint blush colored Sally's cheeks as she looked away from the sudden warmth in Noin's voice, hinting at what had been growing between them over the months they had worked together. "I'll be there to help," she said, voice husky.

Noin looked troubled, her expression as uncertain as Sally had ever seen it. "You were with me when we stopped those," she paused a second, "calling them just murderous scum seems too mild, somehow..."

Sally flinched. She and Noin had participated in a joint operation with several of the Specials Troops, one that had gone badly wrong. Several of their own soldiers had attempted to massacre their unarmed captives, and only Sally and Noin had been there to stop them. She knew it had troubled Noin almost as much as it had her, but she had rarely talked about it.

"More and more I find myself wondering if we're on the right side anymore," Noin admitted something that both of them had been thinking. She smiled wryly, "I'm certain Treize and Zechs have the best of intentions, but we both know what the road to hell is paved by."

"We're loyal soldiers, it's not our place to be questioning our command," Sally said, feeling odd playing the devil's advocate. Once upon a time it would have been her asking the questions that Noin was, and in truth it all bothered her, too.

"We were only following orders," Noin smiled grimly, "isn't a good enough excuse." She sighed, "I may not be prepared to throw my lot in with the colonies, but I'm actually glad we've been taken out of the fight."

Meanwhile, back on Earth, a figure gazed out of the window of a luxurious villa, his expression unreadable. Treize Khushrenada turned as he heard someone enter, his brown hair and clothes as neat as they ever were. "So," he asked the new arrival smoothly, "how long am I to be under house arrest?"

"You're not under house arrest," Dorothy Catalonia said mildly, "I believe you've retired to your villa to recover from illness." The regal blonde actually looked apologetic as she said, "This really wasn't my idea."

"I know," Treize conceded.

The political maneuvering on Earth had grown wild with the declaration of war by the colonies, along with the ongoing conflicts between the Specials and the regular military. In the end a compromise had been worked out, but part of it involved Treize's removal from command replacing him with a regular military general. It was a considerable mess, considering his inexperience with the Specials capabilities, but there was little choice.

"I'm not getting many updates," Treize said as he waved Dorothy to a seat, "can you tell me how the war is going?"

"Stalemate," Dorothy answered simply. "The Colonies lack the forces required to take Fortress Barge, while they've been able to beat back any attacks from our forces."

Treize noted her tone of voice, "But that's changing?"

Dorothy nodded, a smile on her face. "The Gundams have initiated a new tactic," she said, "they're disabling and capturing Leos, refitting them and fielding them on their side."

"The tide is shifting to their side," Treize mused. "Is the battleship Libra ready to be deployed?" he asked thoughtfully.

"The reluctance to deploy Mobile Dolls is slowing things down," Dorothy said, "as is the technical difficulties with the new Gemini armors." A scowl, "The Gundam designers are reluctant allies at best, and are dragging their feet."

A faint smile, "They have done a good job on my project, however." Treize looked thoughtful, "I suspect it's the challenge, more than anything."

"Creating a suit that can defeat the Gundams?" Dorothy smiled, "Yes, that challenge would appeal to them."

Treize hesitated a moment, "And how is Colonel Une?"

Dorothy sighed, wishing he had not asked her that. "Colonel Une has been relieved of her duties," she said grimly.

"What?" Treize blurted.

"She wouldn't let go over what happened to you," Dorothy explained to him patiently, "and even publicly threatened Romafeller over it, quite reasonably surmising that they were behind your situation." Quickly she added, "I'm pulling whatever strings I can, she should be all right."

"Thank you, old friend," Treize sighed. He looked down at the rose signet he wore, turning it thoughtfully, "And Zechs?"

"He's reluctantly taking on the role of Miliardo Peacecraft," Dorothy related, "as planned. I think he'd rather have Releena in that role, but our attempts to contact her failed."

"That's a nice way of putting it," Treize chuckled, "she's joined the colonies, correct?"

"I thought you were mostly cut off...?" Dorothy looked concerned.

"Even without my regular information sources I can speculate," Treize said dryly. He sat back, "Releena was already in their camp due to her association with Arisugawa, and I suspect her experiences in the colonies only helped push her along."

Dorothy made a face, "You should be running things still, sir."

"It will happen soon enough," he reassured her. Treize smiled, "So Miliardo is advocating peace while his sister speaks for war. It's an amusing reversal for Zechs, at least."

"He and Ambassador Darlain are working together in a rather unholy alliance," Dorothy confirmed, "while I understand Releena Peacecraft will be presenting a list of the Colonies' peace demands to the Earth soon."

"It's going to be an interesting time," Treize agreed.

To be continued...


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm glad you're back, Releena," Arisugawa Juri said softly as they walked the halls of the colony, the taller orange haired woman positioned protectively by her side while she escorted her to her temporary quarters.

"Me, too," Releena Peacecraft agreed, having exchanged her formal suit for a simple jumpsuit. The brown haired woman looked faintly amused as she murmured, "You don't have to be so protective, you know."

Juri backed off a bit, looking sheepish. "Sorry," she smiled, "I just keep remembering the times OZ tried to kill you."

Releena reached out, gently taking Juri's hand. "At least here I'm probably safe," she said softly, "at least from OZ."

"That sounds ominous," Juri noted.

"Not quite that bad," Releena made a face, "the politics of the situation are just so fluid right now... My brother Zechs has christened himself Miliardo, Treise is in exile and some say a new power is running things behind the scenes at OZ."

"Dorothy Catalonia?" Juri guessed.

"No, she's a servant too, I think," Releena frowned. She gestured, "What's bothering me is that no one I contact seems to be able to get a bead on who's really running things on Earth right now. It's almost as if their being led by a ghost."

"Maybe your father can help shed some light on it," Juri mused. A figure was making his way up the hall and she softly muttered, "Uh oh."

"Hmm?" Releena looked away from Juri to see who was coming and almost instantly understood Juri's reaction.

Wu Fei Cheng strode towards them with a scowl on his handsome Asian face, quite deliberately not giving way for them. When Juri moved to let him pass he gave her a look of disdain as he coldly muttered, "Arisugawa."

"We Fei," Juri nodded politely, "lovely day, isn't it?" All she got in answer was a grunt, the young man walking away, back stiff and shoulders straight.

"That was polite," Releena blinked as he moved off. She gave Juri a curious look, "What was that all about?"

"He doesn't approve of a Earth born pilot in command of the Wing Gundam," Juri said calmly as they started off down the hall, "and just between you and me the rumors say he's also sympathetic to the White Fang."

Releena made a face at the name of the colony terrorists organization, the same group that had once taken a shot at killing Lady Une and nearly gotten her and Juri. "Didn't the colonies officially repudiate the Fang?" she asked.

"Officially yes, but there's still a large faction within the colonies that approves of taking that kind of direct action," Juri shrugged. "Especially with all the dirty tactics OZ used in the colonies over the years," she added with a grim smile.

"True enough," Releena acknowledged, having been the target of some of those dirty tactics herself over the past few months. They reached the room designated for Releena's use and hesitated there before Releena smiled shyly, "Would you like to come in?"

Juri hesitated, "Releena, I..."

Releena put a hand on the arm of Juri's simple gray uniform, her eyes gentle. "I thought we got over this months ago," she said softly.

Juri blushed faintly and cleared her throat. "Maybe we should talk about it inside?" she conceded with a smile.

"Of course," Releena used her pass key and opened up the room, revealing a simple two room suite. Even with just a bedroom and small living room it was still bigger than most colony residents had, befitting her status as a diplomat. She waved Juri to one of the seats as she asked, "What's going on?"

Juri stayed on her feet, looking down at Releena tenderly. "You're a diplomat for the space colonies, one of the two heirs to the Peacecraft monarchy and also the daughter of Earth's leading representative," she said to her softly. Juri sighed softly as she confessed, "I don't want to complicate your life any farther, Releena."

Releena gave her a look of fond exasperation, "Didn't we just talk about your over protectiveness?" She stepped up beside Juri and looked into her eyes as she added huskily, "Maybe I want that complication, Juri."

"I don't want to hurt you," Juri confessed hesitantly, "most of the people I've fallen for have come to bad ends."

Releena quickly closed the gap to rest her head on Juri's shoulder, gently sliding her arms up and around the taller girl. "I'm not Shiori," she murmured to her softly, "or Utena, Juri. I can take care of myself."

"I..." Juri fought the urge a moment, then brought her arms up around Releena, savoring how she felt against her body.

Releena looked up at her compassionately, her brown eyes shining slightly then she closed then, tilting her face up for a kiss. They came together, lips touching once gently, then again more hungrily. Juri's hands slid down possessively over Releena's form even as the smaller girl tangled her fingers in Juri's hair, prolonging the kiss.

Bing bong the door chime rang out.

"Fuck," Releena pulled back with a choked groan.

"Whoever that is I'm going to kill them," Juri muttered as the door chime rang again, both taking a step apart and tidying their clothes.

Releena sighed as she fixed her hair, "Better wait and see who it is first." She strode over to the door and pulled it open barking, "What!"

The blonde haired man blinked in surprise, his eyes widening a little. "I'm sorry," Quatre Winner said mildly.

Releena looked at his innocent expression and sighed. "Never mind," she said in gentler tones, "how can I help you?"

A bit apologetically Quatre said, "I was actually looking for Juri, Wu Fei mentioned she was with you?"

Juri smiled wryly at Quatre's sense of discretion, tactfully giving her a chance to compose herself after the kiss. "How can I help?" she asked him, her manner and appearance hopefully as cool and composed as usual.

"I just finished running this by Commander Hilde," Quatre pushed his hair back, "We've finally got a lead on what happened to some of the Gundam scientists."

"Why do I get the feeling this is not good news?" Juri asked with a sigh.

"Treise has them," Quatre said flatly.

Juri began to curse even as Releena looked back and forth in confusion. "Okay, what's going on?" Releena had to ask.

"It's not something we've released widely," Juri revealed, "but several of the scientists who created the Gundams disappeared when we lost a colony to the Earth forces. We thought they'd been killed but apparently not."

"How bad is it?" Releena asked.

Quatre sighed softly. "To be honest we're not too sure," he admitted, "our contact didn't have much more information than that."

Juri paced a moment, a frown on her face, "We'd better assume the worst, that they're developing Mobile Suits for OZ and the Earth forces."

"They wouldn't," Quatre started.

"OZ could have some leverage on them," Releena cut him off gently, "and I hate to say it but if your life is on the line, you can do things you might never consider before."

"Maybe," Quatre shrugged. He looked over at Juri and said, "I came to get you because a group of pilots and tactical officers are getting together to try and prepare contingency plans. Would you mind joining us?"

"Of course," Juri nodded. Quietly she added to Releena, "I'm sorry."

"You have to do you duty," Releena agreed gently. A faint smile, "Could you stop here after you're done? I'd like us to continue what we were doing earlier."

Juri blushed faintly, "Right."

To be continued...


	21. Chapter 21

Dorothy Catalonia smiled as she strode through the medical research facility, the lovely blonde making a striking figure dressed in her uniform. "Is she ready?" Dorothy asked her lieutenant calmly, gazing at the brown haired woman thoughtfully.

"Yes ma'am," the black haired young woman nodded, keeping pace easily and carrying a clipboard at her side. "I understand her psychiatrist is still dubious about using her in the field, however," she added.

"I'm not interested in her as a warrior, Helen," Dorothy said dryly, "she's more of a psychological warfare tool."

"True enough," Helen acknowledged. The crisply dressed young woman looked faintly uncomfortable, "She refuses to have the facial scar removed."

"It's her choice," Dorothy acknowledged as they reached the end of the hallway. She knocked firmly and called, "May we come in?"

"Please," the woman answered.

The sunroom was brightly lit, the light streaming in from the glass windows, a garden stretching out just beyond the glass. Chairs were set up around the comfortable room, and the scent of roses lingered in the air. Sitting by the window a young woman with violet hair gazed out at the garden, her skin pale from long illness.

"Good morning, Shiori," Dorothy said calmly.

Shiori looked up calmly, her eyes oddly cold and remote. Her nightgown swirled as she rose, the scar on her cheek only becoming visible as she moved. Burned into her cheek was a rose crest, much like the one she now wore on her finger, both red as blood. "Have you found her... my dear Juri?" she asked softly.

"Yes we have," Dorothy told her, "she's a pilot with the colonies now."

"A pilot?" Shiori blinked, "It seems too harsh for her."

Dorothy studied Shiori for a moment then asked, "Do you still want to duel her?"

Shiori seemed to unconsciously reach up to her cheek, caressing the scar there with long, delicate fingers. "Oh yes," she hissed as her eyes suddenly flashed with anger, "she'll pay for leaving me to die!" Almost as soon as it appeared the rage was gone as she dreamily purred, "Oh Juri my love... I've missed you."

"And we will bring you two together," Dorothy promised, "when the time is right."

"Thank you," Shiori breathed out, reaching out to take Dorothy's hand. Drawing it to her mouth she kissed the top gently the her tongue flicked out, wetly sliding between the digits in a disturbingly erotic way.

"God," Helen murmured, turning away with a blush.

"Rest, Shiori," Dorothy pulled free from her gently before saying to her, "we'll be back once you're ready."

"I'll look forward to it," Shiori purred.

Dorothy waited until they were away from the room and walking down the hall before she said, "Shiori will need to be closely watched in the field."

"Yes ma'am," Helen agreed tentatively, more than a little disturbed by the young woman that they were leaving. Quietly she asked Dorothy, "Ma'am, are we still planning to put her in the pilot seat of a modified Tallgeese?"

"We need additional pilots for the Tallgeese wing," Dorothy shrugged, "especially with all our recent losses."

Recent losses was an serious understatement, in truth OZ's Tallgeese Wing was all but dead. First Zechs had left to attend to family duties as Miliardo Peacecraft, then Noin and Sally had been captured in a space battle and finally they had been forced to remove Une from her mobile suit due to her loyalty to the former commander Treize.

"Yes ma'am," Helen agreed. She checked her notes, "Sadly our attempts to recruit new pilots connected to the Gundam pilots hasn't been successful."

"Put more pressure on Ms. Winner," Dorothy said after a moment, "remind her we can kill her family and business with a word. Have you looked into the orphanage Duo Maxwell claims as a place of birth?"

"We've compiled a list of residents the same age as he would have been, but so far there's no luck finding them," Helen said briskly. "Trowa Barton is clearly an alias, so no luck there, and Wu-fei's family and associates died with his colony."

"Wonder if the pilots were chosen deliberately for their lack of connections?" Dorothy murmured admiringly.

"Possibly," Helen said.

"And the Gemini suits?" Dorothy asked.

"The Gundam scientists have hammered out a prototype," Helen checked over her notes as she said, "it's a improvement over Leos by several generations, but individually they're still not a match for a real Gundam."

Dorothy waved that off, "Doesn't matter, they won't be going up against the Gundams one on one anyway."

"There's one new problem, ma'am," Helen said after a moment.

"Just one?" Dorothy raised a eyebrow, "Let's hear it."

"Lady Une has dropped out of sight," Helen said tentatively, "our agents can't seem to find her anywhere."

In another part of the world a figure walked along the hall, the black flightsuit clinging to her body. "Thank you, Mr. Treize," Une said, brown hair flowing over her shoulders.

Treize Khushrenada nodded in welcome, the two falling into step as they went into the hanger. "No, thank you," he said, "your loyalty has been one of the few things I could count on."

Une blushed faintly, looking away from him before gazing at the dark shape crouched in the room. It was red and black, looking very much like a knight in armor with a pair of steel wings stretching out from the back.

"This is Epyon," Treize said quietly, "my gift to you, Une."

"OZ's own Gundam," Une ran a hand over one leg caressingly.

"It uses a new control interface called the Zero System," Treize continued, "it will enhance your fighting capabilities immeasurably."

Une took her hand away from the cool metal as she smiled grimly, "And I know exactly who I'll use it against, too."

"Dorothy or Juri?" Treize asked.

Une looked up at the suit, her thoughts seemingly consumed by all the possibilities that it represented. "Both of them, maybe," she finally answered, "in time."

"Fair enough," Treize nodded. He studied her thoughtfully, "Do you understand the role I need you to play?"

"The bringer of chaos," Une answered him promptly, "driving both sides of this conflict closer to the final battle, and pushing them both to deadly escalation." She flashed him a smile, "It will be glorious, sir."

Treize watched her grab the cable and rise to the open cockpit, his face revealing none of his thoughts, the pain that he hid away so well. Only the most disciplined of minds could safely use the Zero System, OZ scientist's experiments showed that a standard pilot would go mad in a short time. He knew that Lady Une, as good as she was, wouldn't last very long under the system's influence and quietly he grieved for her.

Une stepped on the open chest plate then turned, throwing Treize a grave salute. "Good-bye sir," she said and was gone into the darkness.

"Good-bye," Treize nodded.

Silently the hatch closed, the suit sitting still a moment. Then the eyes flared red, glowing in the darkness, and Epyon straightened out, standing noble in the dim chamber. The outer doors opened and it moved off, stepping out onto the runway then throwing itself into the air. Components shifted, body twisting, then something very like a dragon soared off into the night.

To be continued...


	22. Chapter 22

Explosions lit up the battle line, bright stars flaring up then fading as they were snuffed out. Swiftly Juri swung her Gundam around just as the Tallgeese class Mobile Suit slashed in again. The shield held against her energy lash, lightning crackling as they met then parted in a burst of light.

"Dorothy," Juri hissed softly, her long orange hair tied back and concealed by her flight suit's helmet.

"So we meet again," Dorothy Catalonia's amused voice came over the radio, startlingly clear in the depths of space.

The attack against the colonies had been swift and brutal, a powerful force made of maybe all the mobile suits in Fortress Barge striking without warning against a single colony. It's defences couldn't take the strain, and using a powerful bean cannon used by a Tallgeese suit they had blown the colony out of space...taking the thousands of men, women and children aboard with her.

"Why the escalation?" Juri asked, her red, blue and white Gundam floating in the void, beam saber ready, "You know the colonies won't forgive this."

"We've never wanted forgiveness," Dorothy answered with amusement, "the stakes of this war are higher than you can imagine."

"I know what OZ gets out of this," Juri asked calmly, "but what about you, Dorothy? What do you want?"

"What everyone wants, power," Dorothy answered. A beat of silence, "You might say the power to revolutionize the world."

"What?" Juri blurted, stunned to hear such familiar words.

It was in that frozen moment of surprise that Dorothy struck, her energy lash racing in to burn the arm of the Gundam, melting even the unique alloys of the suit and sending Juri reeling back. With a proud cry Dorothy raced in for the kill...

But like any good fencer, Juri was fast on her feet. Swinging her damaged shield arm back she parried with her beam saber. Suddenly it was like she was back in the fencing arena, flicks of her blade deflecting weapons strikes with frightening ease.

"Damn you..." Dorothy cursed, trying to press home her attack against that semingly perfect defense.

"Ma'am!" the panicked voice came over her communications gear.

"What!" Dorothy hissed angrily, cursing the distraction.

Juri, sensing her lapsed attention scooted away, bringing her rifle into play and forcing her back even farther. "Sorry to fight and run, but I've got repairs to make," Juri said with a slight smile as she raced away into the confusion of the battlefield.

"Do you know what you've cost me?" Dorothy roared at her helpless subordinate.

"Ma'am," he cut her off before she could continue, "Fortress Barge is under attack!"

"The colonies don't have that kind of force," for a moment Dorothy was stunned by her own disbelief.

"Ma'am it's a unknown Gundam," he said, "and it's massacring our defensive force! I don't know how long it can hold!"

Making a snap decision Dorothy hit the emergency band and connected to all her Mobile Suits. "Tellgeese Wing, Specials, full retreat! Retreat back to Fortress Barge immediately," she commanded, wheeling her suit around and racing back to their carriers, hanging out on the edge of the battlefield.

"They're running," Wu Fei Chang sounded dreadfully eager as the Asian boy asked, "should we pursue!"

"No," Quatre Winner's voice, as always, was a voice of reason as the blond boy continued, "we aren't strong enough to defeat them, and we'd suffer terrible losses if we make them stand and fight."

"You're welcome to pick off any stragglers, though," Hilde's voice came from their colony base, "communications that we intercepted show they're not waiting around for anyone, right now."

With that a flight of Colony Leos lead by Trowa Barton and Wu Fei raced out to swarm over the Specials that fell behind, even as the remaining Colony forces assembled into a sentry force and the rest returned to base.

Juri gracefully guided her Wing Gundam into place on the docks, the hatch opening as she flew out into the zero gravity chamber. As space suited repair crews swarmed over her Gundam she felt a pang of regret at the livid burns that ran along one arm.

"Sorry old girl," Juri murmured as she headed to the airlock at the base of the massive dock, "I promise to do better next time." The airlock cycle open and Juri stepped in, unable to hear the hiss or air pumping into the room. Once pressure light went green she took her helmet off in relief, shaking out her long hair.

"Are you all right?" Releena Peacecraft demanded a few moments later, the brown haired young lady having hurried to meet her in the hallways. She slid forward and kissed Juri lingeringly, only pulling back to look her over carefully.

"I'm fine," Juri quickly reached out a hand as she reassured her, "Dorothy just tagged the arm of my Gundam, is all."

"Considering how many pilots she killed reaching you, I was worried," Releena said, looking up into her eyes tenderly.

"I heard," Juri's voice was flat, "we're going to have to do something about Dorothy very, very soon."

"Nice one," Due Maxwell said cheerfully as the brown haired young man reached her side, his braid bouncing, "no one else has survived against Dorothy."

"I'm sure any other Gundam pilot would have done as well," Juri shrugged that off. She looked curious, "Does anyone know why they took off?"

"Hilde has news," Duo gave Releena a mildly apologetic look, "I'm sorry, but she's called a meeting."

"I know, I'm going too," Relena smiled, "I thought I'd meet Juri and let her know."

"So that's what you were doing," Duo chuckled. As he was turning away he added, "You two might want to fix your lipsticks, first."

Juri blushed even as Releena chuckled, "We'll do that."

Not long after Commander Hilde faced the room of senior pilots and staff, her short brown hair falling into her eyes. "We got lucky today," she revealed, "intelligence reports suggest that Catalonia stripped Fortress Barge of every available suit in a attempt to crush our resistance once and for all."

"We would have won, even if they hadn't left," Wu Fei protested.

"The Gundams might have survived but we'd have lost most of our conventional forces," Trowa corrected flatly, "crippling our defense."

"So why did they leave if they thought they coulkd win?" Quatre asked mildly.

"We don't have outside confirmation of this but it appears that Fortress Barge has come under attack," Hilde paused, "by a Gundam."

To be continued...

 


	23. Chapter 23

Fortress Barge hung in space, the massive construct built for war. At the time none of Earth's forces would have admitted it, of course, claiming the armor and reinforced design was simply for survivability, but everyone knew Fortress Barge was designed to survive almost anything. But whatever it was designed to survive, it had not been built to face this.

Looking like a red devil the mysterious mobile suit tore into the picket force, one that was already horribly depleted by the attack on the colony military. With a single swipe of it's greenish tinted energy sword it killed two Leos, leaving behind explosive fireballs in it's wake.

Trant Clark watched in a certain amount of awe and horror as the mystery suit slaughtered his men with hideous ease. "Lady Catalonia," he activated the radio again, "we've already lost much of the guard force."

"Damn it," Dorothy loudly cursed and he could easily imagine the furious expression on the fiery blonde's face.

"How far out are you ma'am?" Trant had to ask, a bit of desperation in his voice.

"Over an hour," Dorothy answered flatly.

Trant closed his eyes a moment, knowing that it would be much too long a time. "I'll activate the broadcast systems to send you as much sensor data as possible," he said briskly, "I hope that will be of some help."

"Don't give up," Meuller said from his Leo's cockpit within one of the assault force's carriers internal bay, "you can still..."

"Over and out," Trant cut his friend and comrade off, knowing what he was going to say, and also knowing it was pointless.

The mystery Gundam slaughtered another suit with a single swipe of a claw-like arm, it's red-black shield easily blocking a shot before it zipped in to gut a Leo like a trout. Amid the flickering rubble it looked unearthly, deadly dangerous as it's optic port eyes flickered in the darkness of space.

"Unknown Gundam," Trant tried to radio the mystery Gundam once again, "identify yourself and the colony that you represent! Attacking Fortress Barge is a act of war." He smiled to himself grimly as he thought, 'Not that it really matters, since we've been in a state of all out war with the one colony alliance for months now. But they've never shown a suit with these capabilities before...'

"I'm not with a colony," the cool, calm voice startled him out of his troubling thoughts.

"Who are you?" Trant demanded, sudden hope filling him as he saw a monitor on his control panel flicker to life.

The brown haired woman wore a modified flight suit, the helm entirely covering the upper half of her face. She looked attractive enough, though it was difficult to say much more than that with much of her face hidden away. She pressed a switch on the side of her helm and part of the cover slid back, revealing familiar eyes.

"Lady UNE?" Trant looked at her, open mouthed in shock.

The brown haired Lady Une met his eyes with a eerie, almost unearthly calm. "How many people do you have aboard?" she asked.

"Over a hundred support staff," Trant answered reflexedly, "ma'am, what are you doing? You're on our side!"

"Get them to the life pods," Une ordered with the ease of one well suited to command, "you have five minutes."

"Wait..." Trant started but she cut him off.

Thoughts racing he gave the evacuation order even as Trant tried to bring his only card into play. The chances of hitting the suit with Fortress Barge's main gun was a hundred to one, but it was the only thing he had left to try. Even as sirens wailed and he worked to bring the system on-line, he wondered how this had happened.

'Did she snap after Catalonia betrayed her?' Trant silently wondered, 'Or did she always have some sympathy with the colonies? Was she just a plant in our ranks all along?' He thought back to the loyalty that Une had always shown their leader Treize and shook his head, knowing it just wasn't possible.

Nearly four minutes and twenty seconds later the last of the life boats zipped away from the base as the mysterious suit moved forward, igniting it's plasma blade once more. "Wait," Trant demanded even as his finger hovered over the firing button for the cannon, "at least tell me why you're doing this!"

"For the future."

With that the suit raced in even as Trant desperately jabbed down on the firing button. The energy discharge was immensely powerful, but the new suit saw it coming and weaved aside, zipping in right above the command center. Trant didn't even have a chance to scream as the energy blade destroyed him, then continued on to rip into the armored structure. As the survivors in the life boats looked on in awe and horror, Fortress Barge exploded in a flash of light against the blackness of space.

"Une," Dorothy Catalonia repeated in disbelief as she went over the transmitted data from Trant's final moments. The office on board the carrier was a poor command center, but it was the best she had available.

"It's confirmed, ma'am," Meuller met his commander's eyes, "both voice and visual data match up perfectly."

"Why is she doing this?" Dorothy murmured as her vessels picked up the life pods, "What's her plan?"

"Revenge?" Meuller offered boldly.

A slight smile twisted Dorothy's lips, "No, she's too loyal for that. Or at least, that's what I thought until today."

"Either way," Meuller answered her grimly, "this attack presents us with a whole new set of problems."

"Where do we go now?" Dorothy agreed bleakly.

Fortress Barge had been more than just a battle station to launch attacks on the colonies, it had also been their home and supply depot. Without it they were limited to supplies in the ships, carriers and life pods, all of which would only last them so long. Without a base of operations and resupply from Earth, they were going to die.

Meuller said what both of them were thinking, "We'll have to take a colony over, then contact home."

"Which will make the government so happy," Dorothy said dryly. She sighed, "Get the charts out, we need to determine which is closest and or most vulnerable."

"I'll get right to it," Meuller saluted before leaving the cramped office.

Dorothy sat back at her desk with a weary sigh, "I just wish I trusted him." She activated the communications system, "Helen?"

Her assistant appeared on the screen, the black haired young woman looking more tired than average. "Yes, ma'am?" Helen respectfully asked.

"Shiori was recovered all right?" Dorothy asked even as she reviewed data on the mysterious new suit.

"She's fine ma'am," Helen replied a bit stiffly, "I was also able to get my medical teams out, thanks for asking."

Dorothy looked up from her work to fix Helen with a dangerous look. "I'll excuse that snippiness because I assume you're under stress," she said with a dangerous calm, "don't presume to repeat it."

Helen paled. "Yes, ma'am," she murmured.

Dorothy sighed, knowing that she was tired too. "Sorry," she said in milder tones, "I was going to ask after your team next."

"Ma'am," Helen nodded. A faint smile, "Some mixed news has arrived."

"Oh?" Dorothy asked.

"Shortly after you left we received the first Gemini suit," Helen revealed, "we've been testing out the pilot candidates on it."

"It was removed before the Barge was destroyed?" Dorothy asked intently.

"We got it out," Helen smiled.

"YES!" Dorothy grinned, glad to hear at least one piece of good news. "Who's done the best so far?" she asked.

"Casval Winner," Helen said, "one of the daughters of the Winner clan. She made contact with us covertly recently."

"Is she loyal?" Dorothy sounded skeptical.

"Miss Winner seems to resent Quatre for the troubles he's brought on his family," Helen revealed, "as well as blaming him for the recent death of their father."

"Interesting," Dorothy murmured. Tapping a finger on her desk she said, "Forward what data you have on her to me."

"Yes ma'am," Helen said as she pressed keys on her own work station.

Dorothy read it over, her expression thoughtful. 'It sounds good,' she silently admitted, then made up her mind. "Put her in the Gemini officially," Dorothy ordered, "we'll use her in our next major operation."

To be continued...


	24. Chapter 24

Releena Peacecraft smiled grimly as she thought about the upcoming meeting while she finished her preperations, the brown haired young woman carefully tying her long hair into a braid. A simple suit hugged her slim but athletic form, the white fabric gleaming with carefully placed gold highlights.

'A bit much,' Releena adjusted her gold tie, 'but I guess it'll do.'

With that Releena left the quarters she shared with Arisugawa Kuri and headed down the hall, her aide falling into place beside her. Sylvia Noventa was a recent arrival, and oddly the daughter of a Earth general. However, his betrayal by his own superiors coupled with her own disillusionment lead her to the colonies.

Sylvia's dyed red hair flowed in the gentle breeze as she said, "The representatives of the current Earth United government and the neutral nations are waiting in meeting room one, ma'am." She hesitated, "You should know..."

"My brother is there?" Releena guessed as they went through a passage into a lower gravity region, the two floating until they left the area.

"Yes, ma'am," Sylvia agreed. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"I should be fine," Releena said as they reached a new door, two ceremonial guards waiting there. "Ambassador Releena Peacecraft and guest," she announced them, passing over her identification.

The guard scanned it, his military cap shading his eyes then handed them back as he crisply said, "All clear, Miss Peacecraft."

"Thank you," Releena tucked the papers away as the door hissed open.

The guards and papers were a compromise the colonies hammered out with the Earth forces. While not a Embassy, exactly, the rooms they would be meeting in would be treated a neutral territory, allowing for hopefully frank discussions between various parties.

'Of course,' Releena thought as she scanned the room, 'the attack by the mystery Gundam suit two days ago isn't helping encourage honesty in any of us.'

Sitting in chairs around the table were three men, each one about as far apart politically as you could get. Milliardo Peacecraft was there representing the former kingdom of Sanc and other still independant nations, a pale blond haired warrior who ironically represented pacifist ideals. Trinoi Levinski was there as a representative of the OZ organization, presumedly chosen because he was both well respected yet also expendable. Finally Marquis Weridge represented the newly formed World Government, a attempt by the Romafeller foundation to unify the world.

"Gentlemen," Releena nodded as she took her seat and asked politely, "I believe you asked to see me?"

"Representative," Trinoi started, the old soldier leaning forward, "what the hell are you people doing, unleashing a new Gundam?"

"We aren't doing anything," Releena answered him mildly, "in fact, I believe this may be a internal OZ matter."

"What do you mean?" Weridge asked, the nobleman looking at her sharply.

"We intercepted certain communications transmitted from Fortress Barge before it was destroyed," Releena started.

"How dare you..." Trinoi tried to sound offended, but there was a certain respect now showing in the older man's eyes.

"We are in a state of open conflict," Releena reminded him, "besides, the Barge was broadcasting their message on emergency bands."

"So what did you pick up?" Milliardo calmly brought then back on topic, his blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"It appears the mystery Gundam is being piloted by a OZ officer," Releena revealed as her assistant passed her a print out of the broadcast, "a Colonel Une."

There was a moment of dead silence as they processed that. "I presume you knew this?" Weridge asked the OZ officer flatly.

"We are still trying to determine if Une was some kind of colony plant," Trinoi answered them a bit defensively.

"Don't make me laugh," Milliardo said dryly to his former comrade in arms, "you and I know better than that."

Releena had to nod, "I had my differences with Une, but in my experience she seemed fiercely loyal to OZ." Shaking herself she addressed the group, "So as long as the mystery suit only attacks OZ targets, it's not the colony's problem."

"The question being, will she continue to just attack OZ facilities in space, or does she have a larger agenda in mind?" Weridge wondered aloud.

"A very good question," Releena hid a smile, knowing that her family's old friend clearly had a point. 'But until Une does do something more, the colonies can't act,' she mused.

"Now," Milliardo smiled, "I was wondering if the involved parties had reviewed the Sanc kingdom's latest peace proposal?"

"Preposterous," Trinoi scoffed, "Oz admit to committing war crimes? Responsible officers surrendering to face trial at the international court? It's a joke."

"Not to the dead of the Sanc kingdom," Milliardo reminded them, "or any of the other innocents trampled on in OZ's persuit of power and control."

"Politically, we couldn't get behind such a motion," Weridge said a bit uncomfortably.

'Because Romafeller sponsored or profited from much of that illegal activity,' Releena thought, 'and your World Government is heavily tied to them.' Aloud she said, "While the colonies would not dream of interfering with the internal matters of a sovereign nation, the Sanc representative has a point."

"You would side with him, considering," Trinoi grumbled.

"There is no love lost between me and Milliardo, sir," Releena speared him with a frosty gaze, "if you had dome your research you would know that."

Trinoi met her gaze a moment, then nodded choppily, "My apologies."

"Thank you," Releena tried to relax a bit, aware of how stiff her surge of anger made her. "More importantly," she continued in more normal tones, "If there is to be peace between the colonies and Earth, we would also demand similar conditions to the Sanc proposal."

"First, the colonies would be expected to cease hostilities," Weridge said firmly.

"Ask OZ to do that first," Releena answered him dryly, "all the colonies have done so far is actively protect ourselves from their attacks."

Weridge adjusted his tie, his black suit likely uncomfortable in the warm lights as he said, "The presence of a military force in space is provocative, until you disarm we cannot be certain of our own safety."

"Your damn Operation Meteor proved that," Trinoi added.

"Operation Meteor targeted OZ instilations rather than the civilian targets you've traditionally hit," Releena noted. She smiled, "But getting back on topic, we colonies cannot feel safe or secure with OZ ready to take over at a moments notice."

"Stalemate," Milliardo noted after a moment, "until one or both of you are willing to make a gesture of good faith, we won't be going anywhere."

"Do you have a suggestion?" Weridge asked curiously.

"As we are all aware, Colonel Catalonia has been operating in orbit, launching assaults against the Colonies," Milliardo said smoothly. "Why not command her to cease hostilities for the time being, to show your commitment to the peace process?"

Trinoi looked at him a moment, "I'll pass that suggestion on to my superiors." He looked around, "I think we're done for today, excuse me." With that he collected his aide and was gone out the door.

"He doesn't have the authority to do that," Weridge noted after a moment, "and I doubt Catalonia would acknowledge such a order anyway."

"She's that out of control?" Releena noted in surprise.

"She had powerful patrons in Romafeller when I was still Zechs," Milliardo noted, "I doubt that's changed now."

"Exactly," Weridge noted with a sigh.

To be continued...


	25. Chapter 25

"Well," Dorothy Catelonia said as the bitter smoke of battle drifted through the air, "I suppose it will have to do." The blonde stood by her Tallgeese unit on the broken street, the inside of the colony L1-BO4467 now battered and broken by their invasion.

Docking their shuttles peacefully the OZ troops had launched a surprise blitz of the command decks of the outer colony defenses, then moved in the waiting troop shuttles. The residents of the peaceful colony had been woefully unprepared for war, and the take over had been painless... at least for the OZ troops.

"Ma'am," Helen hurried to her side, the black haired officer dressed in her snug uniform, "we've found a facility to use as a command center."

"Make sure that we have a solid communications link with Meuller in the outer defense headquarters," Dorothy ordered briskly as she and a team of bodyguards followed Helen, "I don't want any surprises."

Helen touched the earpiece she wore, "Tech teams are already moving." She paused, "Ma'am, why not use the moon base?"

"I wondered when you'd ask," Dorothy smiled slightly. Seriously she said, "The moon base is less defensible, and if Une attacks again I want a location we can evacuate quickly."

Helen dropped her voice a bit, "You're certain it was Une?"

"Trant seemed fairly certain," Dorothy kept any trace of grief for the lost officer out of her voice, "and he was a reliable man."

"True," Helen agreed as they made their way to the nearby building Helen had chosen. Picked for both how it could be defended as well as rapid access to their Mobile Suits, it was a bit of a compromise. Built into a false hill it almost looked like a bunker, but it had been intended for a user who wanted to be close to 'nature.'

"What's the status of the pilots?" Dorothy asked crisply.

Helen pursed her lips as they went into the office she intended to give to Dorothy. "Shiori had one of her moments again," she said flatly, "she slashed a nurse quite badly."

Dorothy sighed, once more wondering if Shiori was really worth the trouble. "And the others?" she asked.

"Winner continues to test out well in the Gemini," Helen consulted her notes, "but we lack elite pilots for our surviving Tallgeese units."

"I never should have lost Po and Noin," Dorothy made a face.

"Meuller is qualified..." Helen offered tentatively.

Dorothy shook her head, "No, his main loyalty is to Treise's faction in OZ. I can't give him such a weapon until I know which way he'll jump."

"Ma'am," one of her engineers, Maiser, stuck his head in the door, "we've reestablished contact with Earth!"

"Oh lovely," Dorothy muttered, taking a moment to tidy her hair and uniform. Activating the standard communications rig built into the desk she said, "Earth Command, this is Captain Dorothy Catalonia."

"Hello Dorothy," Treise Khushrenada smiled, the brown haired officer back in uniform and sitting in the command center.

Dorothy clenched her fists hard, but kept them out of sight under the table as she thought, 'How did he maneuver back into power?!' Keeping her confusion off her face she nodded respectfully, "I regret to inform you Fortress Barge has been destroyed."

"We received the distress signal a short time ago," Treise agreed. He frowned exaggeratedly and added, "The involvement of my former subordinate is disturbing, so much so Romafeller asked me to assist them."

'I wonder if you knew this would happen...?' Dorothy mused as she maintained her poker face. "As a emergency measure we've taken over colony L1-BO4467 as a base of operations, and we're requesting reinforcements."

"That won't be easy," Treize answered, "we're struggling to recoup losses of ships and men from previous campaigns. However, we'll send what we can."

"Thank you," Dorothy answered as she thought, 'Obviously, you're putting me on the back burner, damn you.' Aloud she asked, "What are your orders?"

"Hold you position, refuel and rearm," Treise ordered, "we need to see how the situation develops before we act."

"Understood, Catalonia out," she said formally.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Sally," Noin said quietly, the black haired woman leaning against the wall of their cell, "I've made up my mind."

Sally Po looked up, her long brown hair a mess as she asked, "Yes?"

"The information the Gundams have given us," Noin looked pained, "it's not faked. Oz and Earth have committed atrocities... hell, I was there to stop a massacre at one point."

"You think it's time to...?" Sally asked, a little surprised that in the weeks since their last conversation on the subject Noin could change so.

"I can't fight for OZ any more," Noin confessed her feelings with a sigh, "if nothing else, Dorothy saw to that."

"Then let's get someone's attention," Sally smiled.

Noin and Sally got up, taking turns banging on the doors as Noin asked, "Not going to talk me out of it?"

"I hate to say it," Sally banged the wall as she said, "but I made my mind up weeks back. I was just waiting for you."

"I get the odd feeling I was just insulted," Noin muttered. Hammering on the door she yelled, "Hey, guard!"

A few moment's later the window in the door opened up as Duo Maxwell looked at them cheerfully. "Sorry, folks, the guards are kinda busy." The brown haired young man smiled charmingly, "Can I help you?"

"I think so," Sally said, looking pointedly at Noin.

Noin took a deep breath then said, "As a officer of the Specials... I'd like to defect to the colony forces."

"Seriously," Duo perked up. He paused a moment in thought, "Do ya think you could hold out another week?"

"Why?" Sally blinked.

"I bet on you lasting that long," Duo confided.

Sally smiled slightly, "Will you give us a cut of your winnings?"

"Twenty for you, eighty for me?" Duo proposed.

"Hey, we'd be staying in jail a extra week.. Fifty fifty!" Sally protested.

"You're cutting into my profit," Duo complained.

Noin cleared her throat as Sally smiled, "Sorry, Duo."

"Just joking," he said then Duo became more serious. "We'll let you out on your word you won't try anything," he said, "but be aware we're keeping an eye on you."

"I'd expect nothing less," Noin answered gravely. Meeting his eyes she said, "What's the situation? If it involves taking down Catelonia, we want to help."

To be continued...


	26. Chapter 26

Milliardo Peacecraft paused as he used his modified Tallgeese Zero to hover in space, the engines off and power systems kept at minimal levels. Once the first Tallgeese unit, Zechs had stolen it when his own superiors finally betrayed him, first coming into contact with the eccentric Howard, then under the guidance of his old friend Treise adopting his former identity of Milliardo and taking control of the Sanc.

The colony L1-BO4467 hung in the depths of space as OZ mobile suits zipped around it in defensive patrols, while units similar to his own Tallgeese waited to launch from certain key positions. They were readying for an attack, possibly from the mystery gundam, and didn't care what damage they did to anything nearby.

'And I don't dare act,' Milliardo admitted as the brown haired pilot drank tea from a thermos, "the residents of the colony are hostages in Catalonia's hands. If I or anyone else nears, they'll certainly start killing them one by one.'

The radio crackled and Milliardo scowled as a face appeared on his screen, "Quince, I told you not to contact me again."

The older man nodded, "Yes, you did but the situation is different now."

"Of?" Milliardo looked skeptical as he drank a cup of tea.

"We have White Fang operatives within the colony L1-BO4467," Quince gloated, "and I have a proposition for you."

Milliardo gave him a dangerous look, "Your proposition."

Quince paled slightly but continued on bravely, "In exchange for our assistance in rescuing the hostages, you agree to become the leader of White Fang."

Milliardo paused a moment in consideration, "You realize you'd be better off with a Winner or Duo Maxwell."

"You have a better reputation," Quince answered him frankly, "as both Milliardo and as Zechs, sir." Briskly he continued on, "But we can discuss all of that later. Should I give my people the go ahead?"

Miliardo thought a moment before he answered grimly, "Order your people to begin scouting the locations they'll need to attack to free the hostages first. I need to make arrangements for reinforcements."

"Understood," Quince nodded before signing off.

Milliardo sighed as he returned his gaze to the captive colony, silently wondering if he hadn't just made a horrible mistake. 'I suppose we'll only find that out tomorrow,' he admitted to himself grimly.

Meanwhile in the headquarters of the colony resistance, Juri Arisugawa was receiving the news of the two OZ pilots intentions to defect with a certain degree of skepticism. "You think they're really sincere?" the orange haired pilot asked.

"I think so," Duo agreed as the dark brown haired pilot said, "they've been betrayed by Earth and it's military on a fundamental level, and also by their own superior officer." He smiled wryly as he added, "I think the only thing that caused them to wait for this long is basic loyalty to their principals."

"Releena?" Juri looked over at her lover and a person who's judgement she trusted almost more than all others.

Releena Peacecraft smiled back wryly as the light brown haired woman , "I'm not sure what I can say. From my impressions of her she's a honorable woman, as is Sally Po.:"

"Beggars can't be choosers," Juri murmured to herself before adding in a louder voice to Duo, "I think we'll take them."

"You got it," Duo nodded, "where do you want to with them?"

"What I want to do is stick them in out captive Tallgeeses," Juri admitted, "but until we're sure we'll have to keep a eye on them in normal Ares suits."

"I'll let Quatre know," Duo said with a wave as he hurried off, "and he can pass it on to the other pilots."

"Isn't Quatre normally in charge?" Releena quietly asked once he left their suite, "Why did he come to you first?"

"He is, but I'm the one who brought in Noin and Po after they were shot by Catalonia," Juri explained with a sigh, "I guess he thought I should know."

"Ah," Releena nodded. She looked up at Juri as a small smile teased her lips, "You know, I just realized there's no emergencies or meetings to attend to..."

"No, there isn't," Juri agreed in a purring tone as she looked down at Releena with a spark of hunger in her eyes. She bent forward to kiss her gently, then nibbled at her neck as she began to pull her jacket off...

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Oh," Releena growled in frustration, "you have GOT to be kidding!"

"Damn it," Juri scowled as she stalked over to the door with murder in her eyes. "What!" she demanded as she flung it open.

The young man looked visibly frightened as he took a step back. "Ma'am," he said weakly, "there's a call for the ambassador. Top priority."

Releena sighed as she straightened up her clothes, "Thank you, I'll take it here." She closed the door as she gave Juri an apologetic look, "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Juri sighed, "but it had better be a real emergency or..."

"Agreed," Releena nodded as she activated the communications system and saw her brother's face appear. "Milliardo," she said dryly, "what a pleasure to see you."

"Indeed," Milliardo said coolly in response. He paused, a slight smile on his face, "You might want to turn up the collar of your jacket a bit."

"Eh?" Releena blinked.

"I think you've been bit," Milliardo said, trying to hide his amusement.

Releena found her hand moving to where Juri had nibbled, then forced it down. "I thought you said this was urgent?" she asked her brother frostily.

Milliardo nodded grimly, "I'm sure you're aware of Catalonia's take lover of a colony?"

"I've been briefed," Releena agreed, "she's illegally taken over colony L1-BO4467 and has taken the inhabitants hostage. They're fortifying the interior as much as they can, according to my contacts."

"Exactly," Milliardo agreed. "I've been contacted by a source inside the colony," he said seriously, "they're planning a rescue of the colonists."

Releena narrowed her eyes as she quickly saw, "They'll need outside help, or the rescue would be pointless."

"The rescue attempt inside might make a fine distraction for a outside assault," Milliardo noted smugly, "especially if they get that snake Catalonia."

"We couldn't be that lucky," Juri murmured, though if she was honest she'd only believe the woman was dead if she saw it herself.

"Heh," Releena hid a smile at that comment. Looking up at Milliardo she said, "I'll put your proposal to the colonies government. They'll have to decide to act."

"Thank you," Milliardo nodded, "I look forward to hearing from you."

With that the screen went blank, but not before each sibling seemed to want to say something more, and failed. Juri walked up and gently squeezed her partner's shoulder as she softly asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Releena sighed as she looked up at Juri, "It's just... I want to say things to him but I can never find the words."

"Give it time," Juri said to her reasonably, "it hasn't been that long since you learned he was your brother."

Releena nodded slightly, "You're right." She reached up to squeeze Juri's hand thoughtfully, "You know this is urgent, right?"

"We'll get back to this later," Juri sighed as she kissed Releena's cheek then let go.

"Count on it," Releena agreed as they both headed out to spread the word.

To be continued...


	27. Chapter 27

Treize Khushrenada strode through his headquarters on Earth, the brown haired officer looking dashing in his black OZ uniform. Just behind him a new military aide hurried along, her long light green hair tied back in a simple ponytail, her uniform hugging a lush body. "Sir," Kanae Ohtori said, "I have the files you requested."

"Thank you," Treize said briskly as he took them, reading with a slight frown. The colony that Dorothy Catalonia had taken over was pictured on the first page, the remaining documents covering it's construction and a military assessment of it's strength's and weaknesses.

"It's rather undefendable," Kanae noted as she hurried to keep pace.

A faint smile tugged on his lips as Treize noted, "Only as long as you don't take the hostages she's holding into account."

Kanae made a face slightly as she conceded the point. "Do we attempt to reinforce her?" she had to ask as they moved into one of the larger rooms of the palace, converted into a kind of military command center in the current crisis.

"With what?" Trize asked dryly.

Treize nodded polite greetings to military officers and politicos as they went to the center of the room where a table laid out the current tactical situation. Icons clustered around Earth represented their resources, while the colonies shone red, surrounded by symbols noting their own military power. While a great deal of military power was available to them in and around the Earth, their forces were much thinner out by the colonies.

"Hmm," Kanae frowned as she looked over the tactical map. "Could we deploy Libra?" she asked after a moment.

Treize shook his head, "They're still working on her. Besides, with Fortress Barge gone I don't want to endanger our only major space asset."

One of the young lieutenants hurried over with a report, "We heard back from the moon base, sir. They have the first of the new series of Mobile Suits ready."

"The production series of Gemini is ready?" Treize looked pleasantly surprised.

"No sir," he shook his head reluctantly, "this is the improved Mobile Doll project."

Treize made a face at that, even as Kanae hid a smile. Treize objected to the Dolls on principal, feeling the computer controlled fighting machines could not take the place of human warriors. She privately wondered if he wanted to maintain the human cost of war, though she'd never dare ask him that directly.

"How many can be quickly mobilized?" Treize asked, his eyes narrowed slightly, "And how much computer support will they need?"

The young man checked his report a moment as he said, "Twenty five are fully rated to be deployed, sir. If they are running preprogrammed routines they only need minimal computer support, but direct interactive control would take a warship or command center."

"Which Dorothy has," Kanae noted thoughtfully.

"Hmm," Treize nodded. Making a quick decision he said, "Have the Dolls mobilized to assist Catelonia's operations."

"Will do," the younger man nodded briskly, leaving the two alone as the remaining officers maintained a respectful distance.

Kanae frowned as she looked up at Treize, wondering why he would waste such a valuable weapon on a rival he no longer trusted. "Sir," she quietly asked him, "is that wise?"

Treize smiled slightly, clearly amused by her polite hesitation. "Twenty five Dolls will not make that great of a difference in combat," he mused, "but it will let me fill my obligation to assist her. More importantly, this will serve as a field test for the Dolls that Catelonia herself has been pushing."

"Ah," Kanae's eyes widened.

"If she succeeds, she'll have proven the project's worth," Treize smiled coldly as he added, "and if she fails it will justify my canceling the whole concept." He turned to study the display as he asked, "And what of the diplomats?"

"Ambassador Darlain is presenting a new set of proposals to the government," Kanae checked her notes, "my sources say it won't fly."

"The colonies and Sank still want trials for officers accused of war crimes?" Treize guessed. As Kanae nodded he shook his head, "There's no way the government will go for that. At least, not without a major shift behind the scenes."

"Hmm," Kanae agreed. Darlain was struggling not only with political resistance but economic as well, the Romafeller foundation using everything in it's impressive economic arsenal to oppose any peace movement. Romafeller was heavily invested in military companies, and they stood to profit immeasurably by the continuation of the war.

Treize looked over at Kanae and added, "Do not take any action against Darlain, Kanae. I know it's tempting, but it would be very inadvisable right now."

"Yes sir," Kanae agreed, once more surprised at how well the man could anticipate where her thoughts were leading. She had been about to suggest that something could happen to Darlain to remove him from the game, so to speak.

Treize smiled slightly, "The peace movement doesn't need any more martyrs." He looked over at her, "Please check in with communications, I want updates on readiness for all units."

"Yes sir!" Kanae saluted before hurrying off.

Treize sighed to himself as he studied the monitors, his expression thoughtful. It was a difficult balancing act, maintaining the public pose of being adversarial with Dorothy. But their strategy required the tension between a leader in the field and a overall commander, to drive the other players in the game they were playing. So far, things were progressing as expected, with only a few wild cards disrupting their plans.

"Computer," Treize murmured, "show track of Epyon sightings."

From Fortress Barge Epyon was cutting a deadly swath through surviving Earth military forces, hunting down and picking off any stragglers from her initial attack. Une was piloting the suit with her usual percision, but already he could see from the data she was showing obsessive traits. The Zero system was already eroding her mind. Silently he grieved for his comrade in arms, even though he knew it was necessary.

"Frightening, yet awe inspiring," the woman noted calmly as she walked over to him.

"Who...," Treize turned, knowing that most of his officers wouldn't interrupt, then trailed off as he took her in. Dark skin similar to rich cocoa gave her a strange beauty, her purple hair flowing across her shoulders and down her back. She wore the uniform of a high ranking OZ soldier, yet he was certain he had never seen her before.

"Who I am isn't important," she informed him calmly, "what I have to tell you is."

"Oh?" Treize tensed as he prepared for a attack.

She smiled coldly, "You are dancing to the tune of End of the World."

Treize's eyes widened, "How do you know about..."

"You will not bring revolution to the world," she continued calmly, "merely it's destruction."

Reaching for her Treize demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?!"

But before he could grab her every light in the command center went out, along with the displays plunging the room into darkness. As cries of alarm rang out Treize groped blindly for the woman but she was gone. In a few moments the emergency lights came back on but there was no sign of the lady, just the chaos she seemed to leave in her wake.

Rushing into the command center Kanae hurried to Treize's side, the young woman looking alarmed as she asked, "Are you all right, sir? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Treize reassured her, then added softly, "And I'm not sure what happened... but I mean to find out."

To be continued...


	28. Chapter 28

Lt. Noin felt odd as the dark brown haired woman pulled on one of the flight suits the colony forces used, the simple black cloth garment hugging her body. The rank insignia of a Lieutenant was also on the collar, a courtesy given to her by her former captors. She felt certain they wouldn't let her actually command troops, not until she proved her loyalty to them.

"You look good," Sally Po told her, sitting on the bed in the quarters that they shared. Her usual twin braids fell to her full breasts, the clothes she wore a little worn. "Do you mind that I offered to work on the medical side?" she asked her former commander quietly.

"No," Noin shook her head as she told her honestly, "they could use the doctors right now." She smiled wryly as she added, "I will miss you watching my back."

"You'll have the Gundams watching it," Sally told her with a warm smile, "I think that'll more than make up for it."

After saying goodbye Noin headed off with a slight smile, the halls busy with people going on or off duty. The colony was constantly busy with the war on, and in the days since Noin had been freed she'd worked to master the complex inner layout. Now with the ease of a resident she made her way from residential to the military section, arriving at the briefing room right on time.

"Noin," Juri Arsiugawa gave her a neutral smile as she came in, the orange haired woman adding, "welcome aboard."

"Thank you," Noin smiled back politely even as she sat down and took a look at the pilots around the room. There was Arisugawa, Maxwell Duo and Trowa Barton, all sitting rather casually. Several more nervous colony pilots were sitting behind them, and Quatre Winner was standing up front, ready to give the morning briefing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Lt. Noin," Quatre introduced her as the blond haired boy said, "formerly of OZ. Before any of you try to tar and feather her you should know that she had a clean record for a OZ soldier and had in several incidents reigned in her more extreme colleagues. We're lucky to have her, so treat her fairly."

Noin felt the others' questioning gazes on her but looked straight ahead. "Thank you, sir," she said respectfully to him.

"All right," Quatre moved on to the briefing, "the last sighting of Gundam Epyon was two days ago. It seems to have stopped hunting OZ mobile suits, but where it is now is unknown."

Juri tilted her head to the side, "Gundams have a good range on them, but they can't go on forever. Is she resupplying somewhere?"

"Where at, though?" Duo asked, adding sarcastically "Une blew up Fortress Barge and I really doubt Dorothy would resupply her."

Noin felt like a traitor, but she made herself say, "When OZ was planning to move against the colonies, we built small supply stations covertly." Everyone looked at her as she added, "Most common troopers didn't know, I'm not even sure Catalonia was informed. But Lady Une would have been high enough in OZ to find out..."

"Damn," Duo blinked.

Trowa looked over at her thoughtfully as the brown haired young man asked her, "Do you know where these stations are?"

"Roughly," Noin admitted, "I know where they were supposed to be from conversations with Zechs back when this was in the planning stage. I don't know for certain if they were moved after they were built, for instance."

Quatre nodded, "Either way, it's useful information. Can you pass the rough locations on to intelligence after the meeting? We might send some Leos to investigate."

"Will do," Noin said, firmly squelching her feeling of betraying her comrades. 'Dorothy tried to murder you,' she silently reminded herself, 'and OZ no longer stands for anything you want to be involved with.'

"Dorothy Catalonia's survivors from Fortress Barge are still holding L1-BO4467," Quatre said seriously, "but plans are underway to change that." He smiled impishly at Noin, "I understand you want a shot at Dorothy?"

"Please," Noin smiled ferally.

"You'll be involved in our ops plan once a go decision is reached," Quatre nodded. He sighed as he conceded, "It's going to be messy no matter what we do." He continued somewhat more briskly, "Standard patrols for flight crews, Trowa and Duo are our reserve."

"I hate being the reserve," Duo muttered under his breath, "it means sittin' still waiting to bolt in to help whoever needs it."

"Someone has to do it," Trowa shrugged philosophically.

"Heh," Quatre hid a smile at their reactions before he looked at Noin, "Howard wants to see you before you check out a Mobile Suit, see him after you check in with the Intelligence team."

"Yes sir," Noin nodded as the meeting broke up.

The meeting with Intelligence took longer than it should, the group of spooks grilling her on any space based OZ operations that she might know about. It took her nearly a half an hour to get free, and only then because she finally convinced them of her lack of further data. Behind schedule Noin made her way to the outer edge of the colony, eventually reaching the massive docking bays were the salvaged Mobile Suits were kept.

The colony pilots had been well aware of the tactical disadvantages they faced, especially the lack of Mobile Suits. As much as possible they had disabled rather than destroyed enemy Leos and captured them, towing them home either to be repaired or to be used as spare parts for other suits. The colonies were gradually building up a tidy little army, though admittedly still dwarfed by the size of the Earth's forces.

Floating through the pressurized bay Noin quickly found the head of the colony's engineers, Howard. The bald headed man commanded things with a astonishing ease, directing the efforts of multiple teams arming one suit, repairing another and a third organizing supplies for the next job.

Drifting as close to the ball of chaos as she could Noin fired off a salute as she said, "Lt. Noin, reporting as ordered."

Howard turned, his bald head and sunglasses gleaming as the Hawaiian shirt clad man noted, "I figured you'd be here sooner."

"I was unavoidably detained by Intelligence," Noin said dryly.

"Intelligence?!" Howard scoffed, "They couldn't find their asses with both hands."

Noin had to bit back a smile as she said agreeably, "If you say so,."

Howard pushed off effortlessly from a wall as he said, "Follow me."

Noin followed him, the two of them drifting by various Leos, some in good shape, others damaged in battle. A few space configured Taurus' suits were there too, and Noin found herself wondering if she might be piloting one. "Where are we...?" she started to ask.

"Just ahead," Howard shushed her as they neared the end of the bay.

They drifted past another suit and Noin's eyes widened as she took in the familiar looking knightly figure that rested in the shadow of that last suit. The armor gleamed silver in the lights, unmarred by damage and looking like it just rolled off a assembly line.

"It's a Tallgeese," Noin breathed out.

Howard smiled smugly as he said, "It's your Tallgeese, actually." As Noin looked at him in surprise he shrugged casually, "Well, we recovered it mostly intact, after Dorothy sprung her little booby trap on you so it was easier to repair."

"Booby trap?" Noin echoed dangerously, not having head this before.

"No one told you?" Howard looked surprised. "When Dorothy fired on you she also triggered a device in your suit's electrical system. It gave your suit what effectively amounted to a stroke, I presume because she did not want to face you in a fair fight."

"That's just her style," Noin conceded. She knew she should be doubting him but she knew it was just the sort of thing Dorothy Catalonia would do.

"Anyway," Howard waved that off, "we captured her intact, and except for having to rip out a lot of the electrical system she didn't take much repairs. We swapped out systems where we had a better device available and purged the software to make sure there were no bombs hidden there. Other than that, she's good as new."

"And she's mine again?" Noin had to ask, not sure if she believed the good fortune.

"No," Howards lied, "I hauled you out here to just taunt you." He grinned as he slapped her back, nearly sending them both spinning in zero gravity, "She's yours if you want her."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Miliardo Peacecraft hovered in orbit of colony L1-BO4467, waiting as patiently as he could for his allies to arrive. They had launched from the colony headquarters a few days ago, but they had to be careful not to alert scouts sent out by OZ.

An alarm chimed and Miliardo smiled slightly as he murmured, "They're here."

The twenty or so suits weren't a large force, but for the colonies it was a impressive military commitment. Even more so was the Gundam that lead them, the Shen-Long piloted by Wu-Fei. The young Asian boy's face appeared on the screen as he smiled coldly and said, "Sorry we were late, Zechs. We ran into a bit of trouble."

"What happened?" Miliardo asked, concerned their operation might be spoiled. He wasn't worried about them so much, but for the colonists who would be killed.

"Don't worry," Wu-Fei actually grinned, "we intercepted some reinforcements bound for here, some of those damn remote control Mobile Suits OZ is working on. We destroyed them all."

"Good," Zechs smiled. The odds were going to be close even with his Tallgeese and the Gundam, they didn't need to add any more wild cards. "I'll signal our operatives within to get into position," Miliardo pressed a button on his control board sending out a seemingly random burst of static, "we'll move in when they signal they're ready."

"Understood," Wu-Fei signaled his men to spread out via a simple hand gesture. He looked at Miliardo thoughtfully, "You think this plan will actually work?:

"It will," Miliardo answered, "if we have to, we'll make it work. I refuse to leave these innocents in the hands of butchers any longer."

Wu-Fei gave him a look that could almost be called respectful, "You've changed, Zechs."

Miliardo shook his head, "No, I just never let people see this side of me before." He bared his teeth in what could be charitably called a smile, "And my name is Miliardo."

Wu-Fei nodded slightly, "Fair enough."

A soft chirp came from Miliardo's controls and he smiled much more naturally. "That's the signal," he said as he powered up his Tallgeese, "let's go!"

The Tallgeese rocketed off, instantly drawing the attention of the patroling enemy Leos, the undam and it's allies following behind. In moments battle was joined, weapons blazing as a furious dogfight broke out. The outside pilots frantically called for help, unaware that their comrades inside the colony had their own problems...

To be continued!


	29. Chapter 29: Interlude: Kings and Queens

The command center was based on one of the colonies, one officially abandoned due to damage from a meteor strike. While the colonists had fled the command centers and maintenance areas were all still safely pressurized, allowing the establishment of a covert headquarters. Men and women in pseudo military garb hurried about the complex, carrying reports and preforming various tasks.

The bridge resembled a busy office, with officers at terminals monitoring communication traffic through out the solar system. Civilian ships, military forces and political activity were all monitored and recorded, and summaries were prepare for their leader.

The purple haired man with dusky skin sat in a command chair in the center of the bridge, relaxing as he studied a chess set sitting on a table beside him. The white king was in dire straights, left with just pawns as the black pieces closed in, and apparently checkmate was inevitable. He reached out and toyed with a black knight, then moved it in a 'l' to a new position.

A young woman with sky-blue hair walked up, pausing until he noticed her. "Maya," the man dressed in a fancy military uniform with plenty of decorations nodded ton her slightly as he asked, "you have a report?"

"Status update, Lord Akio," Maya nodded, "we have pinpointed the current positions of the surviving duelists, sir."

"Good," Akio Ohtori took the electronic tablet, skimming through the data. "Have there been any sightings of my dear sister? Or her lover, Utena Tenjou?"

"Our plant in Treize's camp reported a possible sighting," Maya said briskly, "she attempted to warn him that he was dancing to your tune, sir."

Akio picked up a glass from a nearby table, drinking to buy time and get his temper under control. "Are our strategies in danger?" he asked flatly.

"No sir," Maya shook her head, "his role in our strategies primarily consisted in preparing Epyon and unleashing Une."

"He can, however, attempt to hinder us," Akio growled, drinking. Setting the glass down carefully he said, "Keep a close watch on him."

"Sir," Maya nodded.

Akio got up, walking out of the control room calmly. He walked down a corridor and stopped by a window, gazing out at the stars thoughtfully.

Once, Akio had been a prince, or at least he thought he had been. Memory dimmed and changed over time, and he no longer was what he once was. But in some forgotten age he had power and glory, and been among the greatest of the great. But somehow he lost it, and fell to dwell among the common people with his beloved sister.

"Anthy...," Akio murmured, hand unconsciously clenching into a fist.

He and his sister lived in bliss in Ohtori, playing the great game together. Gathering a group of teens together they dangled the promise of eternity before them, then made them fight. Each time they tried to find a spirit noble enough to restore Akio, but each time they failed. Untold numbers of students were destroyed in their contest but he didn't care, finally playing the game simply for the entertainment value. Then SHE came...

Utena Tenjou seemed common enough, at first. A pink haired young woman with a hero complex, she had been chosen by Akio to be a duelist. He had thought she had potential, but he never expected her to successfully overturn his plans. Somehow she reached past years of obedience and turned Anthy against him, making her defy him!

When Anthy left, it was as if the life went out of him. The game paled for Akio, seduction became boring and he had no reason to go on. He froze the passage of time in his private realm and played with the students like dolls, breaking them for his own amusement as time flew by outside.

Akio didn't know what finally drew his attention outside of his home. Maybe it was the tortured heroism of some of the pilots? Or the quiet despair of those dreaming of peace? Or even just the pure, majestic scale of it all? Either way gazing at the war between the colonies and earth, he saw a game that was worthy of his playing.

With a twinge of regret Akio destroyed Ohtori, burning the academy and freeing himself from his prison-sanctuary. The majority of students were slain, but a few he released, sending them out into the world as possible pawns, knights, bishops and queens.

OZ and it's Specials were a easy target for Akio, and he slid into their number like he was born to it. It was terribly easy to twist and shape men into his pawns, to take the vice, hatred and ego that dwelled inside men and make it so much stronger than their virtues. He began to distribute the rings to duelists then sat back, waiting to watch the bloodshed.

Yet somehow, things were not going as planned. When Akio released Juri Arisugawa he thought he had taken her memory and ring away, yet somehow when she reappeared the ring was still on her finger. Worse she seemed to still remember the duels somewhat, and was putting herself in a position to oppose him!

And someone, somewhere was putting other pieces on the board. The Gundam pilots suddenly had rings to fight in the duels, and were even defeating some of his chosen! The colonies, which Akio had expected to merely put up a good fight then fall, were actually holding their own. And even his own pawns were showing signs of rebellion!

Looking at the scenario, seeing how things were shifting beneath his very feet Akio could only come to one conclusion: someone was actively opposing him. Someone out there was daring to challenge him, trying to thwart his justified return to glory!

"Anthy..." Akio hissed softly, clenching a fist.

It had to be his beloved sister, the traitorous swine. Anthy was once again turning on him, this time with the help of Utena and the colonies. But Akio would not let her win, no... he would find her, and when he did, she would pay for a multitude of sins.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Utena Tenjou felt uncomfortable with her dyed black hair as she worked on a recovered Mobile Suit, her fingers nimbly sorting burned out wiring. With surprising gentleness she pried out the damaged circuit board, passing it to her assistant.

"Get that to Howard," she said as she took a fresh unit and began to hook it up, "we need to determine why it burnt out like that."

"Yes, Captain," Scott smiled as he took it, "I can't believe how delicate you can be."

"Practice," Utena shrugged as she worked, the boy hurrying off.

Utena saw Juri Arisugawa drifting nearby heading to her Wing Gundam, and shifted a bit to make sure she was out of her line of sight. She felt a swift pang of guilt, hiding from a friend like this, but she also knew it was necessary. She couldn't let Juri know she was alive, at least not yet.

"Utena-sama?" came from behind her.

"Aaargh!" Utena yelped, dropping a tool and whirling around.

Anthy looked amused as the now redheaded woman held onto a gab-bar build into the leg of the MS. "Sorry," she smiled, "I couldn't resist."

"You are evil," Utena muttered, but she was smiling as she did so.

"Forgive me?" Anthy asked as she leaned forward to kiss Utena's cheek.

Utena laughed, hugging her, "This time."

Anthy leaned against the leg of the MS as Utena worked, carefully finishing the instillation. "I went and visited Treize," she confided quietly.

"What did you tell him?" Utena asked, finishing up and closing the panel.

"Just that he was being manipulated," Anthy admitted. She sighed as she asked, "Do you think it'll do any good?"

"He'll start asking questions," Utena said as they drifted away from the MS over to where Howard ran things while working on his designs, "that alone will be good."

"Ursula," Howard smiled at Utena then nodded respectfully to the redhead, "and Miss Yoko, too. How can I help you ladies?"

"I finished up repairing the two Leos," Utena reported, "you mind if I go on break?"

"Considering you work twice as fast as most of these slackers, I should make you stay," Howard joked, "but yeah, go enjoy yourself."

"Thanks, boss," Utena waved.

"Thank you, sir," Anthy added as they moved off.

The hallways were crowded as the two women walked back to their suite, one chosen both to be close to the repair bays and the shuttle docks. The door unlocked smoothly as they entered, then sealed again with a soft sound.

"I'm glad to be home," Anthy sighed tiredly.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Utena asked after a moment, looking down at Anthy thoughtfully. She sighed, "A lot of people are going to die..."

"And if we don't act, I'm sure it will be worse," Anthy said honestly. "My brother has lost what little sanity he had, Utena. He glories in slaughter, now, and will not be happy until the stars in the sky themselves burn."

"We could just kill him," Utena offered that unpalatable idea flatly.

Anthy hugged her, appreciating the offer even though she knew her lover hated the idea. "It wouldn't stop what he set in motion," Anthy answered with another sigh, "we have to play this through until the end."

"You're right," Utena conceded with a soft sigh, "I just hate all this manipulating people."

"Neither do I," Anthy agreed, "but at lest we're giving them a choice, and a chance to survive all of this madness."

Utena nodded, "True enough."

They moved over to the bed and sat down, then Utena laid down on her side. Anthy curled up against her like a cat seeking warmth, and Utena let herself stroke the other woman's long, red hair.

"Hmm, I like that," Anthy purred happily.

Utena kissed her neck then nibbled her ear, holding her close... BZZZ! The door chime made them jerk apart, both looking at the door with a glare that should have caused it to burst aflame, it was so intense.

"Damn it," Utena got up to answer it, hitting the release button with the palm of her hand.

The private on the other side of the door went bone pale at the look on her face, taking a half step back. "Captain Ursula?" he said weakly.

"Yes?" Utena growled.

"Howard requested if you could come back to the docks...," the boy said timidly.

Utena fixed him with a intense look, "Is it a life and death emergency?"

"Uhm, no?" he answered.

"Tell him I'll be there in half a hour," she told him, slamming the door shut. Walking back to Anthy she smiled, "Now where were we...?"

To be continued!


	30. Chapter 30: Book 3

Dorothy Catalonia cursed as she wheeled her Tallgeese unit through the depths of space, her weapons blazing. Colony L1-BO4467 hung in the darkness below them, the space around the colony swarming with Mobile Suits as they zipped around on thrusters, trying to kill each other.

Two Leos raced at Dorothy, weapons blazing as they swept in fast. Quick bursts of her thrusters got Dorothy clear of the attack, then she drew and ignited the suit's beam saber and cut both of them down with a single strike.

"Helen, report!" Dorothy growled, keying the communications link to her headquarters inside the colony.

"I have bad news," Helen responded after a second or two of lag, "someone has attacked our forces inside the colony too. The hostages have been freed."

Dorothy cursed, then swiftly brought her anger under control. "It had to be the White Fang," she growled as the battle raged around her, "they were just pretending to negotiate with us."

"It seems so," Helen agreed. "Ma'am, we cannot hold the colony, not with our current numbers," she advised seriously.

"I know," she acknowledged, watching the combat. Dorothy knew her OZ pilots were doing their best, but there were just too many colonists out there, along with a Gundam and the original Tallgeese unit.

"Ma'am, what do you want us to do?" Helen pressed, sounding just a bit frightened.

Dorothy scowled, knowing there wasn't much choice left. "Load Shiori into the spare Tallgeese," she ordered, "and have Casval Winner deploy in the Gemini. We don't have the option of saving them anymore."

"I don't think Shiori is stable enough to...," Helen started.

"We don't have time for this," Dorothy activated her thrusters as one of her pilots died in flames, zipping in to kill his attackers with deadly strikes, "If we don't launch her now, we will not have a chance to do so in the future."

"This is against my advice, but understood," Helen nodded. She smiled grimly, "Meuller is launching in a Tallgeese as well, ma'am."

"Well, let's hope he's actually loyal to us instead or just to Trize," Dorothy sighed, knowing she needed every pilot she could get, now.

In another part of the colony a violet haired woman walked beside her attendants, the young lady strikingly beautiful even with the rose crest that had been burned into her cheek. "Is it time to see Juri?" Shiori asked, her expression thoughtful.

Asuna, a OZ medic, kept pace with the young woman as they entered the outer section of the colony where the mobile suits were kept. "Not yet," the red head said, "but soon. Right now Miss Catalonia needs your help."

"Dorothy?" Shiori echoed, her eyes looking off in the distance, "Yes, I remember her. She took me out from the asylum, you know. I hadn't been out in such a long time."

"Let me help you into your flight suit," Asuna urged her as she hustled the slightly vague young woman into the change room.

"Thank you," Shiori smiled as she removed the plain jumpsuit she had worn, slipping on the modified Specials flight suit prepared for her. She touched the rose crest of her uniform thoughtfully, then looked at Asuna, "Do you know what this means?"

"No, I don't," Asuna said as she passed the suit's helmet over.

"It means I'm a duelist," Shiori smiled at her madly as she advanced on Asuna, "and I can do anything I want."

"Wha...," Asuna started when Shiori swung the helmet, smacking her hard in the face. She staggered backward, hitting the wall as the pain blinded her a moment. She tried to get her wits about her but Shiori was too fast, following up with another powerful swing of the now bloody helm.

Asuna's nose broke with a wet crack as she bounced hard up against the wall, then Shiori punched her viciously in the gut. Blood dripped from the woman's face as she doubled over, sobbing weakly in pain and confusion. "You have to understand," Shiori grabbed her by the hair and forced Asuna to meet her eyes, "only the worthy will survive to see Revolution."

A few minutes later Shiori walked out of the change room, her flight suit splattered with blood. With a sure step she strode across the walk ways to where the Tallgeese waited, the massive mobile suits looming over the small woman. She reached out from where the walkway lead to the access hatch in the chest, smearing a bit of blood on the metal.

"I baptize you in blood," Shiori murmured as she pressed the switch to open the hatch, "serve me well." The simulators had taught Shiori well, and the young woman swiftly brought the Tallgeese online. She activated her helmet's communication's system, then sat back a moment as the comforting sound of battle communications washed over her.

"Shiori?" the voice interrupted her meditation, "Are you prepped for launch?"

"Yes Helen," Shiori answered, opening her eyes as she keyed in the command to depressurize the bay, "I am launching now."

"Did officer Asuna leave you?" Helen asked curiously, "She hasn't reported back in."

"I'm sure she's on her way," Shiori lied cheerfully. As the air rushed out of the bay Shiori saw a flash of red off in the corner of her eye. Turning her head she saw the corpse of Asuna floating in the now weightless, airless bay, a cloud of blood swirling prettily around her.

"Good luck," Helen offered as the last of the air went and the outer bay doors opened.

"Tallgeese, launching!" Shiori declared, keying her thrusters on and bodily tearing free from the gantry that had been surrounding the mobile suit.

Out in the chaos of combat Wu Fei cursed bitterly as the black haired young man saw another Tallgeese launch from the colony. Soon after a unfamiliar Mobile Suit deployed, with bulkier armor and carrying some type of heavy rifle. "Zechs," he called even as he cut down a Leo casually, "two new suits, incoming!"

"I know," Miliardo Peacecraft answered briskly, the pilot expertly handling his Tallgeese Zero. "I need to get to Dorothy," he said flatly.

"We can buy you some time," Wu Fei conceded reluctantly, "but why?"

"Hopefully I can talk her down," Miliardo answered, "and if not... I think I have the best shot at taking her."

"Fair enough," Wu Fei answered, "but don't kill her. I think Noin called dibs on that."

"I'll do my best," Miliardo answered as Wu Fei, colony forces and White Fang troops tore into the OZ forces, buying him some time.

Dorothy saw the Tallgeese racing towards her, and her hands tightened on the controls. A request for communication came up on her control panel, and Dorothy acknowledged it. "Well, it's been awhile," she told Miliardo with a faint smile.

"Dorothy, order your forces to stand down," Miliardo ordered, flatly even as he swung, his suit's beam saber stopped by her swiftly moved arm shield.

"Never," Dorothy unleashed her suit's customized lash, driving him backwards a moment.

"We've just received a update from our forces," Miliardo dodged back then fired his suit's rifle, nearly clipping her, "the situation has changed."

Dorothy barely dodged, once again shaken by how good Miliardo really was in a mobile suit. "I doubt in any way that matters," she hissed, trying to get a shot.

"Yes it does!" Miliardo growled as he swept in, nearly taking the Tallgeese's head off with a swipe of his beam saber, "Akio Ohtori has seized Libra!"

"What?" Dorothy froze, blinking in surprise even as the battle raged around them, the two suits floating just meters apart.

Dorothy knew who Akio Ohtori was, of course. She, Miliardo, Treize and others had received their duelist rings from him, and the promise that the power would be theirs if they won. None of them trusted the smooth, aristocratic man, but the information and influence he offered had made things easier for them all. The idea that he had betrayed them wasn't shoking, but the scale of stealing the new battleship was...

"How?" Dorothy demanded tersely.

"I don't know," Miliardo shook his head intensely, "I don't think even Treize knows yet, but I cannot imagine that the man called 'End of the World' will do anything good with Libra."

Dorothy hesitated, not knowing if this was a trick or... but she knew Miliardo, even if it was in the past. He might fight her, he might even hate her now, but she felt certain he wasn't lying to her. She saw a flash of light in the distance and moved, swiftly shoving Miliardo's Tallgeese aside as she yelled, "Look out!"

The beam saber swept where Miliardo would have been, crackling with energy as Shiori attacked, her blade continuing through to slice across Dorothy's suit arm. "Oops," Shiori noted mildly, "Why did you push him aside?"

"Shiori, stand down," Dorothy ordered, watching the arm with her beam saber spin away off into space.

"No," Shiori answered cheerfully. Her tone changed, darkened, "Where is Juri, Miss Catalonia? I want my Juri... I have so much to tell her."

"Miss...," Miliardo started.

"Don't talk to me!" Shiori flared angrily, spinning towards him as she brought her rifle up for a point blank shot. "Men lie! They all lie! You're lying to me just like Ruka!"

Dorothy felt a dull sort of horror as she realized Shiori was even more unstable than she had thought. "No, Shiori," she quickly said, "Miliardo is here to help us. He knows where Juri is!"

"He knows?" Shiori's voice became much more gentle, "I can see my beloved Juri again? Oh, that will be so..."

She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence as a beam of pure energy shot up from below, lancing the Tallgeese. The bolt probably killed the madwoman instantly, the explosion certainly finishing the job as the heavy suit detonated from the damage.

"Who...?" Miliardo asked as the bulky Gemini mobile suit roared up towards them, the heavy canon glowing faintly as it dissipated the remaining energies from firing.

"Casval Winner," the blond haired young woman identified herself as she came up on both their screens. "I apologize for the suddenness of my actions, but they were necessary."

"I could handle her," Dorothy said flatly, still not trusting the younger woman.

"Handling her is irrelevant," Casval answered bluntly as she continued, "before she launched Shiori beat to death her nurse, Asuna."

"She what?" Miliardo blinked, wondering what sort of operation Dorothy was running.

"I see," Dorothy conceded, sighing. She looked over at Miliardo, "You're certain of your data?"

"I'd bet my life on it," Miliardo answered.

"Well, now you're betting mine," Dorothy said grimly. She switched to a 'all units' line and hailed her forces, "All OZ mobile suits, stand down! I repeat, stand down!" She heard Miliardo passing similar orders to the colony forces and smiled grimly, 'Well, I wonder if Akio planned on this?'

To be continued...

 


	31. Chapter 31

Noin grit her teeth, fighting back the urge to curse as the pilot floated in her Tallgeese, just out from where the transports for Earth's forces were assembling. Treize had stolen and seized much of the orbital lift capacity on Earth, using it to ferry his army of mobile suits to the waiting battlefield. The motley assemblage of ships looked chaotic, but she knew there was a underlying order as they dropped off suits and moved away.

'And I get to talk to him,' Noin thought grimly, 'yipee. Well, me and...'

The Gundam Wing jetted up beside her, even as a civilian type transport shuttle lagged close behind. A communication signal passed between them, then Juri Arisugawa's face appeared on a view screen in Noin's cockpit. "I'm going to hail them," she said seriously, "if they try something, please keep Releena safe."

"You sure?" Noin asked. "They might be less likely to shoot at me."

"We've arranged a temporary truce," Juri shrugged eloquently as the orange haired woman said, "I guess we'll just have to see if they honor it."

"Good luck," Noin wished her as the Gundam flew forward, "I'll keep Releena safe, no matter what it takes."

Juri handled the controls surely, her Gundam flying towards the Earth forces waiting in space. As she slowed to the predetermined spot she saw a mobile suit break from the pack, noting it was a modified Tallgeese type. They both slowed and stopped, floating not far apart as their respective systems requested communications.

"I'm Captain Manning," the redheaded woman said briskly, "are you Juri Arisugawa?"

"I am," Juri nodded. "I was under the impression we were going to talk to Treize?"

"I'm relaying to him now," Manning said, "as I assume you are to ambassador Peacecraft."

The image on the screen wavered, even as Juri patched in a connection to the shuttle with Releena in it. In moments the face of a handsome if aristocratic man appeared, even as Releena presumably appeared on his screens.

"Ambassador," Treize nodded slightly, "I did not expect the colonies to parlay like this. Are you here to sue for peace?"

"No," Releena shook her head, "but I think our entire conflict may have been... overshadowed. Are you aware of the current status of the Libra?"

Treize stiffened visibly, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. "You know it has been taken then," he said grimly.

"Yes, though we don't know by whom or why," Releena lied, having gotten a anonymous message stating who. Why Akio Ohtori had done it was harder to guess though. Juri had gotten quite a shock at hearing the name, too, something Releena intended to ask her about later.

"It was a old... associate of mine," Treize admitted, frowning slightly, "Akio Ohtori. He arranged to have his wife join my staff, but I've had her detained."

"What does he want?" Releena asked, studying Treize intently to try to catch him if he was lying to her.

"I don't know," Treize admitted, actually sounding frustrated. "He has always seemed content to be a power behind the throne, I never expected him to act so openly."

"I see," Relenna murmured, realizing he was as confused as they were. She took a breath, "Do you know why we asked to talk?"

"Alliance," Treize said flatly, looking rather displeased with the idea.

"Libra is quite possibly the most powerful space battleship ever built," Releena said patiently, "we can't stop it alone, especially since it also has Mobile Doll foundries aboard."

Treize looked even less happy as he muttered, "Clearly, OZ needs to improve it's security."

Juri sat back in her cockpit, hiding a smile. The colonies had a fairly good spy force, and to be honest it was hard to hide the building of a massive vessel like Libra. The only real challenge had been getting people into the construction crews working on the project. Quatre wouldn't tell her how he managed it, but she suspected it involved bribery somewhere...

"I won't press you into agreeing to a alliance now," Releena said, "but I think you will agree we can't stop it on our own."

"You could be right," Treize conceded, but he clearly wasn't happy about it. "I will contact you in twenty-four hours, I should be able to get my supporters to agree at that point."

"We've already struck a truce with Dorothy Catalonia, will that be a problem?" Releena asked.

Treize smiled humorlessly. "We had already considered her a renegade at this point," he said, "do as you wish with her, just watch your back."

"Understood," Releena agreed as the connection was cut and the mobile suits drifted apart.

"Well, well," Noin murmured, then blinked as a tight beam transmission hit her Tallgeese.

Treize's face appeared on Noin's viewscreen, his expression both sad and somewhat thoughtful. "Noin, I'm glad to see you're alive," he noted calmly.

"No thanks to Catalonia," Noin said dryly. She smiled faintly, "Miliardo says hi, by the way."

Treize flinched slightly, reminded of the friend who now fought on the other side. "Please, send him my greetings in return," he inclined his head slightly. Looking at her Treize said seriously, "We of OZ know about Catalonia's betrayal. You would be welcome back if you wish."

Treize looked startled when Noin burst into quiet laughter. "Sorry," she said, "but you have to be kidding. In OZ I had to constantly turn a blind eye to excesses of your soldiers, not to mention the murderers and betrayals. Joining the Colony forces was the smartest thing I've ever done."

"I understand," Treize sighed, "I wish you well then."

As the connection was cut Releena's face appeared, the young woman looking displeased. "Was that Treize? What did that smug snake want?"

"He offered my old job back," Noin shrugged, "I turned him down." Plaintively she added, "Can we please go home now? Hanging out here with all the Leos is making me nervous."

"I second that," Juri added warmly, "let's get the hell out of here."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Quatre Winner waited nervously on the platform, though the slim blond boy managed to look cool and composed. The ships containing the survivors of Dorothy Catalonia's forces were set to arrive at the colony momentarily, and soon he would be reunited with his sister once more.

"This is a bad idea," Wu-Fei said flatly, the asian boy glaring around him angrilly.

Duo Maxwell shrugged eloquently as the brown haired boy noted, "Well, we couldn't just leave them floating in space or still in that colony they captured."

Wu-Fei shook his head, "But bringing them here to our base?"

"We've evacuated all civilians and non-essencial personnel," Hilde reported, the brown haired woman saluting Quatre briskly.

"So why are you still here?" Wu-Fei snarked.

Hilde just ignored him, though Duo calmly elbowed his buddy in the guts. As Wu-Fei gurgled Quatre nodded, "Thank you for your efforts. Do we have quarters ready for the OZ forces?"

"I was thinking the brig would work," Hilde said, deadpan.

Quatre sighed, "We are allies, at least temporarily, and we need to treat them with respect."

Due smiled wryly, "I respect them about as far as I can throw them."

Hilde pointedly ignored that too. "I was thinking of putting them in structures on the colony's inner surface," she offered seriously, "with a guard for their own security." Before Quatre could reflexedly protest that she continued, "With all due respect, sir, they NEED guards for their own safety. I can think of a dozen officers off the top of my head that would gladly kill Dorothy in her sleep."

"Only a dozen?" Due noted, "I could think of fifty easy. You're slacking."

"She's got a point," Wu-Fei noted reluctantly.

"All right, we'll guard them, but from a distance," Quatre decided reluctantly, even as the warnings for docking ships went off. "Looks like they're here," he noted needlessly.

"With your big sister too," Duo needled him with a slight smile. It was fun seeing Quatre so nervous, it happened so damn rarely.

"Yes," Quatre nodded, even as he considered how... complicated this situation was.

When Quatre first heard that Casval was working with OZ, he hadn't believed it. He ordered the initial reports re-confirmed, and when those came back positive he wondered if she was infiltrating OZ, somehow. But more and more data indicated she was a willing ally of Catalonia's faction, and all Quatre could do was wonder why?

As OZ troops disembarked from the transports Quatre watched Dorothy Catalonia watching over the wounded, the aristocratic blond looking actually concerned for her men. It was probably just a act, but it was a very good one. Then a slim blond woman in a flight suit emerged, looking around her then seeing the pilots standing not far away.

"That her?" Wu-Fei asked disapprovingly.

"It is," Quatre agreed even as Casval used the low gravity to launch herself at the platform. He stepped forward as she flew towards them, "Casval, it's good to... oof!"

The punch to the face was totally unexpected, and sent Quatre flying backward, blood streaming from his nose. "Quatre!" Hilde yelped, grabbing him even as Duo and Wu-Fei restrained the furious girl.

"You bastard!" Casval raged, clearly wanting to punch Quatre again.

"Yup, you can see the family resemblance immediately," Duo quipped.

"Ooh," Quatre felt his nose, which was bleeding freely down onto his white shirt. He wobbled a bit as he stood, but quickly waved Hilde away. "What's going on?" he demanded of his sister.

Casval shrugged off the two men's grip and stalked forward, glaring at Quatre. "Do you know what happened to father after you joined the resistance?" she demanded coldly. "The Earth Alliance and OZ ruined him, you selfish bastard!"

Quatre paled, even though he knew some of this already. "Father respected my decisio to join," he insisted, even as he tried to hold a cloth to his bleeding nose.

"That doesn't make it right, damn you," Casval turned and walked away, her back stiff with rage as she returned to the OZ forces.

"You okay?" Duo asked Quatre gently even as Hilde was urging him to go see a medic.

"I dunno," Quatre sighed, wondering if he had really made the right choices after all.

To be continued...


	32. Chapter 32

Dorothy Catalonia watched with some amusement as Casval Winner decked her brother, sending the blond teen to the ground. It was rather satisfying to see the smug little bastard with his nose bleeding, considering how cool he normally seemed.

Deciding that she had spent enough time savoring his discomfort Dorothy ordered Helen to manage the survivors of her forces, then she advanced on the Gundam Pilots herself. "Thank you for offering us shelter," she said dryly, knowing they were all but prisoners of the colony forces.

Duo saluted mockingly, "Glad to help."

Dorothy had to fight back a smile, then turned to the still somewhat bloody Quatre. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware your sister was that annoyed with you," she lied.

Quatre gave her a look saying he knew she was lying, even if he wasn't going to say it. "Family disputes can be dangerous," he sighed, his voice slightly nasal from the cloth he had pressed to his broken nose.

Wu-Fei scowled as he said, "We may have to have you here, biut I don't like it. If any of your forces do anything to hurt a colonist, I'll..."

Dorothy snorted, "Shut up, Wu-Fei. With how badly my men are outnumbered, we should be scared of the colonists."

Hilde ignored their back and forth as she nodded to Dorothy, "With your permission, we'll be putting your soldiers in structures inside the colony's surface." She paused and added, "With guards for their own protection."

Dorothy just nodded, "I expected as much."

Duo looked vaguely disappointed, "I thought you'd kick up more of a fuss."

Dorothy shrugged, "I'm not a fool, Maxwell." She turned towards Quatre, who was still trying to get the trickle of blood from his nose under control. "You should go get that looked at," she suggested sweetly.

Quatre glared at her, but nodded choppily. "I'll meet you later," he told Duo as he took off in the low gravity, nearly flying away.

Wu-Fei watched his friend leave, then turned to Dorothy. "By the way," he said with a false casualness that fooled no one, "Arisugawa and Noin are both really looking forward to seeing you again. Very soon."

Dorothy felt the blood pale from her face as that little fact hit her. She hadn't really considered that the woman she'd betrayed and the other she tried to assassinate would both be here. And quite possibly rather angry with her.

With a surprisingly cheerful smile Wu-Fei added, "Good luck! You'll need it."

Hilde looked faintly amused as he left too, the young soldier sighing slightly. "Come on, I'll escort you to the infirmary to check on your wounded, then to where we'll be quartering you," she said.

"Thank you," Dorothy said as she watched colony soldiers leading off her mostly intact troops.

Hilde led her down corridors, deeper into the colony as she noted, "And don't worry about Noin or Arisugawa. If they plan to kill you they'll challenge you openly to a duel."

"Comforting," Dorothy noted with a sigh. As she followed Hilde she asked, "Aren't you nervous traveling with me? I could kill you and try to sabotage the station for OZ."

Hilde lead her through a turn as she noted, "You're not that stupid, Dorothy. You know we're under observation, and if you tried to kill me you'd be caught."

"Killing you might be worth it," Dorothy noted.

Hilde looked amused as they reached the infirmary, "I'm not important enough for you to sacrifice yourself to kill."

The infirmary was pretty much as Dorothy expected: wounded men being treated, nurses bustling in white walled cubicles, and a doctor who appeared offened by her very presence. "What is she doing here?" Sally Po growled.

"It's been a long time," Dorothy nodded to Sally politely.

"Yes," Sally said flatly, "When you tried to murder Noin." She looked at Hilde as she asked, "Why isn't this... thing in a cell?"

Dorothy smiled sardonically as she mused, "I never knew you were one to nurse a grudge, Sally. It's quite charming, really."

"Don't antagonize her," Hilde told Dorothy. Looking at Sally she sighed, "For now, Catalonia is a guest, okay? Don't do anything we'd regret."

"I wouldn't regret it," Sally said, but turned back to her work.

Dorothy decided it might be pragmatic to ignore that, and instead made the rounds to speak to her wounded soldiers. A comforting word, a squeezed hand, there was little she could do, but those gestures provided some comfort. She returned to Hilde's side, the younger woman looking at her thoughtfully, then looking away.

"So," Dorothy said, "off to join my soldiers?"

"No," Hilde said seriously, "there is someone who wants to see you first." Refusing to be drawn out she lead Dorothy deeper into the colony, into what Dorothy surmised were meeting rooms and other such facilities.

Hilde reached a door and pressed a chime, and a familiar voice called, "Come in."

"Dorothy Catalonia, this is Releena Dornlan," Hilde smiled as Dorothy froze in recognition, "I think you've met?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Epyon soared through the depths of space, leaving destruction in it's wake. Colonel Une piloted the dragon-like mobile suit with her usual skill, but within her mind there was a terrible conflict. The Zero System, the unique mental command system Epyon used, was increasing a fundamental mental conflict that had been building within her.

As Colonel Une, she had dedicated herself to Treize's cause, becoming his right hand man. Anything that he needed done she would do, no matter how dirty or despicable. She had murdered and assassinated for him, killed men and women with her own hands, as well as destroying the lives and reputations of countless innocents. She had done it, and would do it again if need be.

But another part of herself had begun to make itself heard. Sayuri Une, the woman under the colonel's guise, looked upon what she had done in horror. The survivor of war and death she had no wish to spread more destruction, and more and more she objected to what they were doing. She was weaker than the Colonel, possibly, but she refused to be silent anymore.

Une shook herself, the massive helm hiding her face as she accelerated on her course. The hunt for survivors of Fortress Barge was over, but OZ had other space based assets. With brutal efficiency she had destroyed two covert observation posts, in the process also destroying a inhabited colony. But that was acceptable collateral damage.

(Sayuri Une streamed and railed in her mind. The Colony had held thousands of people! Women and children! There was no way that was acceptable!)

But now Une was receiving transmissions from another source. She hadn't thought Libra was operational, yet, but apparently the massive space fortress was on the move. Nor had she received notice from Treize, which meant it had been seized by a rival faction. No matter, it would hall to her weapons just like Fortress Barge did.

Ignoring the part of herself crying out for rest Une relentlessly focused on her task, eventually reaching where her sensors told her where Libra was. It almost looked like a metal flower, petals extending out in diamond like shapes, a structure that dwarfed her Gundam. As she watched the flower seemed to drop 'seeds' then alarms began to ring.

"Mobile Dolls," Une hissed, recognizing the abominations arrayed against her.

The Taurus and Space Leos spread out, ten, twenty, thirty... soon Une lost count. The silvery suits advanced as a unit, moving with mechanical precision as they advanced through space. Une floated, almost hypnotized by the moving figures, then suddenly Epyon moved.

The first rank of Dolls died in flames from the superheated chain on one arm, Epyon slicing them almost too fast to see. The beam saber took the second rank nearly as fast, Epyon nearly dancing through the ranks. Yet as fast and as powerful as Epyon was, it was still piloted by a human being.

The Dolls watched, relaying data back to Libra even as they died. Tactical data, reaction time, armor effectiveness, all of it streamed back to the battleship. Even as Epyon destroyed dozens of enemies, more were waiting. And they didn't care about losses, they just kept coming.

"Aargh!" Une made a incoherent sound as a Doll managed to grab at one of Epyon's arms. As she tried to get it free the rest seized the chance and closed with her, restraining her. She destroyed one or two more, but pure numbers finally overwhelmed her.

Growling like a animal Une still struggled as her Gundam was dragged into the launch bay by the Dolls. The machines, presumably under someone's guidence, tore open the cockpit and dragged her outside. Free from the Zero System Une felt odd, confused. The strange clarity that she had once had was fading, and her thoughts were becoming clouded.

The Dolls moved back, and several women in uniform appeared from a hatch, all carrying guns. They advanced professionally, then one walked towards Une while the others kept her covered. "Colonel Une?" the woman asked calmly, "Can you understand me?"

"Yes," Une hissed, the urge to attack the woman almost irresistible Some remnant of common sense held her back, knowing she'd be shot out of hand if she tried anything. Instead she stayed on her knees, sitting on the floor as she tried to clear her thoughts.

The sound of boots on the polished floor drew their attention to the doorway, where a man in a expertly tailored military uniform entered the room. He was handsome, in a way, with his fine features and odd, purple hair, but he also looked worn out somehow. He had a oddly Byronic look to him, as if he had partied so long and so hard that he was absolutely bored with anything life could offer.

"Hello Une," he drawled, "it's been a long time. Do you remember me?"

"Akio," Une acknowledged, remembering him from meetings with Treize, all those years ago.

Akio Ohtori smiled, kneeling down to where she crouched, seemingly unconcerned for his safety. "Let me help you," he smiled warmly, "I know how confusing this all is for you. Let me take all those troubling thoughts away..."

Une felt a eerie sleepiness falling over her, almost like she was being gassed. She could feel something strange happening in her head, as if someone was reaching inside and trying to tinker abit. But something, maybe the conflict in her own mind and personalities, helped her resist.

"What are you..." Akio said after a few moments, sounding frustrated.

His answer seemed to touch the guards, making them distracted and confused. Seizing the opportunity and how close Akio was, Une threw a punch, connecting with the side of his face. With a painful cry he reeled backward, even as she grinned and tried to punch him again.

"No!" the one guard yelled as the whole mob leaped onto her. Une cried out as fists struck wildly, then boots kicked at her as she tried to curl into a ball. The women were furious, nearly animalistic as they tried to beat Une senseless.

"Enough!" Akio ordered.

The woman pulled back, and Une uncurled from where she lay on the floor. Her eye was swelling shut and her ribs ached, probably broken. But she had faced worse just training for the military, she would easily survive this.

Akio had a hand to his cheek, which was already starting to bruise, as he said, "Normally, anyone who insulted me like this would die screaming."

"Take your best shot," Une croaked.

"No, you will live to regret this," Akio smiled coldly, "and who knows? Maybe I'll send pieces of you back to your beloved Treize."

To be continued...


	33. Chapter 33

Treize wondered what as going on, even as the aristocratic man studied images of the stolen Libra. The massive space battleship had been stolen from the shipyards by Akio Ohtori, but so far he had refused all communication and his motives remained unknown.

Clearly, he and the other Duelists had been betrayed. It was a unpalatable thought, and he hated admitting it, but it seemed he and the others had been played. Even as he, Dorothy and the others had moved against their enemies, Akio had been moving against them. He now had, arguably, the most powerful piece on the chessboard, and all they had were pawns and a few knights.

'Pawns can become queens,' Treise reminded himself firmly.

Worse, he also didn't know what had happened to Une. She had sent no check in messages for nearly a week, and there had been no sightings of Epyon. He knew she wouldn't abandon her duty, and the Colonies would have revealed if they captured or destroyed her. So either she had suffered a complete breakdown... or someone else had her. Akio, most likely.

The idea of someone whom he cared about as much as he did, in Akio's hands... it frightened Treize, honestly. A fear made worse by her already weakened mental state. He simply did not know what being in Akio's presence would do to Une, but he doubted it would be good.

The soft chime of a incoming call thankfully jarred Treize from his worried thoughts. He pressed the receive button as he asked, "Yes?"

"Mr. Treize," his secretary said briskly, "there is a call from the detention wing, regarding Mrs. Ohtori."

Treize raised his eyebrow at that. "Put them through," he ordered.

The older man looked tired, his OZ uniform slightly rumpled, presumably from long hours at the job. "Mr. Treize," he sighed, "I have some bad news."

A sinking feeling stirred in Treize's stomach, "Yes?"

"Kanae Ohtori is dead," he said simply.

"I thought she was under suicide watch and under armed guard," Treize demanded.

"She WAS," he said grimly. "And it wasn't by suicide capsule either. Sometime overnight, without setting off any medical alert systems, she just... died."

Damn it. Treize had hoped the woman might at least give them some insights into Akio...

"Mr. Treize... how old would you say Kanae was?" the guard asked curiously.

Treize looked at him curiously, "Her twenties, possibly early thirties. Why?"

He hesitated then the older man sighed. "Because the body in our cells," he hesitated, "I'd guess she was in her eighties. Maybe even older. But the DNA matches Kanae from her intake examination."

"Huh," Treize grunted, honestly not sure what else to say. Other than being deeply disturbed, in retrospect, by Kanae's regular attempts to sleep with him.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

It happened a few days after Dorothy had been captured. They were housing Dorothy and her men on the surface of the colony, but Dorothy regularly visited her wounded in the infirmary. On her way back, Juri had deliuberately intercepted her in the hall.

"Arisugawa," Dorothy nodded coolly.

Juri moved to block her from advancing as she addressed the guards, "Can I have some time with her?"

The two young men exchanged glances. "Are you going to kill her?" one asked.

"No, just talk to her," Juri promised.

"Pity," the other guard noted. "Take your time, call when you want us to take her away."

"I feel SO safe with such men guarding me," Dorothy noted wryly as they wandered off.

"OZ in general and you in particular have hurt a lot of people in the Colonies," Juri said dryly, "it's understandable."

Dorothy grunted, but didn't deny that. "So," she asked, "what can I do for you?"

Juri took a steadying breath. "Shiori was with your group," she finally said, "how? What happened to her?"

"You don't know?" Dorothy asked curiously, no malice in her voice.

It still stung, though, as Juri admitted, "I saw her die, Catalonia. I was sure of it. That's why I did my best to move on. If I had known..."

Dorothy nodded slightly "You were in Ohtori with Akio," she noted, "I've met others who seem to have been influenced by him. It's quite possible he took memories from you, before you left."

That was a disturbing thought, and not one Juri wanted to linger on. "What happened to Shiori?" she repeated.

"I don't know all the details," Dorothy started out by cautioning Juri then continued, "I only became interested in her when you became known as a Gundam pilot. But keeping that in mind, here's what I know..."

Shiori had been hospitalized with burns after the Ohtori Academy fire. She recovered with only one scar, miraculously, but her mental state was questionable. She was calm dealing with nurses and female doctors, but male doctors agitated her. She finally attacked a man with a chair, and was transferred to psychiatric observation, then finally a sanitarium.

There Shiori stayed for several years, her odd paranoia and bursts of violence seeming untreatable. Dorothy contacted her in the hopes of harnessing her as a weapon against Juri, and trained her as a pilot.

Dorothy sighed as she added, "I really hadn't realized just how unstable she was. I had assigned a full time nurse to care for her, as well as making sure she got her medication."

Juri nodded grimly. "So what went wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know," Dorothy admitted. "We made the decision to launch Shiori's Tallgeese in the last battle. On the way to the hangar she attacked her nurse and beat her to death with her helmet."

"Damn," Juri cursed softly, shaking her head.

"Casval Winner found the body, and was the one who stopped Shiori," Dorothy said, "but I don't think she had a choice. I put a madwoman in a Tallgeese, and it was my responsibility."

Juri was faintly surprised at how willingly Dorothy took responsibility. 'She may be traitorous bitch, but she's a decent commander,' she thought. "Thank you for telling me," Juri said, then moved off to summon the guards again.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Miliardo Peacecraft was trying his best to be patient with the grinding negotiations between the three factions, but a part of him wanted to just slap on his Zechs mask and start shooting people. It was ESPECIALLY annoying when it was his current allies the Colonies and his former allies OZ who were being the most difficult.

"Could I just get out my Gundam and settle this?" Juri muttered, echoing his thoughts.

"It's rather frustrating," he agreed wryly.

OZ was reluctant to believe Akio was as great a threat as they said he was. The Colonies accepted Akio was a threat, but they refused to get involved any deeper without assurances that OZ wouldn't give. It was a mess, but one they had to settle before they could take action.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, please," Releen said, standing as she raised her hands. "I believe we have a basic structure for a agreement, yes?"

"About time," Dorothy Catalonia muttered, the blond representing the Romafeller foundation.

Releena ignored that. "We will unite our forces to disable or destroy..."

"Ideally destroy," Duo Maxwell muttered.

Releena ignored that too. "... the Libra. Once we do so the OZ forces have agreed to retreat to a close Earth orbit, and negotiations for a new peace treaty will begin," she finished.

"Assuming they decide to retreat, instead of just finishing us off after Libra mauls us," Juri noted cynically.

Dorothy sighed. "Arisugawa, I know you have a low opinion of OZ, but Treize is a man of his word," she said. "He will do as he promised."

"And he's not the only one in charge over there," Duo said dryly. He shook his head as he addressed the colony representatives, "If it helps any, the Gundams will do our best to make sure they deeply regret it if they try screwing with us."

"It actually does, a bit," the older man acknowledged. He got up, along with other civilians as he said, "I suspect you'll need to start military planning, other than 'let's all jump it.' Good luck."

"Thanks," Duo waved as the civilians filed out.

That left Miliardo, Juri, Dorothy, Duo and Quatre, along with Releena and a deeply uncomfortable looking OZ lieutenant. "All right," Juri said briskly, "Dorothy, I assume you're here representing your faction of OZ too?"

"What there is of it," Dorothy made a face.

Juri studied the other woman, wondering how she could be so cavalier. Though when they talked earlier, there had been a odd degree of regret too... she shook her head, not wanting to dwell on it. "Do we have plans or combat data on the Libra?" she asked.

"No," Quatre said, looking pointedly at the OZ representative.

The man looked honestly apologetic as he said, "OZ had the thing built under the deepest layer of secrecy we could manage. There are no plans available other than those on site, which were destroyed when Libra launched."

"Oh, lovely," Duo muttered.

"We had agents get inside, I understood?" Releena asked thoughtfully.

"True," Quatre conceded, "but they didn't get away with much. Still, it's enough data to start."

"The shielding is HOW thick?" Juri yelped as they read through the files.

"It has how much short range defences?" Duo blinked, hoping the figures were off.

"The main gun is HOW powerful?" Releena paled visibly.

"This is going to be difficult," Dorothy understated, shaking her head.

To be continued...


	34. Chapter 34

Casval Winner piloted her Gemini smoothly, the attractive blond sitting in the cockpit a bit stiffly. Her hand was still slightly bruised from punching her brother and breaking his's nose, but she felt the pain was worth it.

"All ship, move out," Quatre Winner ordered nasally, his still broken nose bandaged and visible bruising on his face.

'Oh, yes it was worth it,' Casval smirked.

Her Gemini, as well as the Tallgeese units of her comrades, were in the process of being loaded into Mobile Suit transports. While the thrusters on their various suits were powerful, they didn't have the 'legs' to catch up to Libra's orbit.

Dorothy Catalonia came up on her squadron's viewscreens. "We are moving out to support the teams acting against Libra," she reminded them, "there is a truce in effect, do not put me in a position where I have to stop you. Because if that happens, I WILL use lethal force."

"Understood," Casval nodded.

Dorothy had also lectured Casval about slugging her brother. It would have been more effective if Dorthy hadn't been fighting back a smile the whole time.

After a moment, she privately hailed Dorothy. "Ma'am?" she asked politely.

"Casval," Dorothy nodded back, "what can I do for you?"

"I haven't encountered this Akio Ohtori before. Is he as dangerous as the other pilots say?" she asked grimly.

"Go to scrambler," Dorothy ordered. Once she did Dorothy continued, "Please don't discuss him on open frequencies. We don't know how good Libra's intercept technologies are."

"Understood," Casval acknowledged.

"Akio is a very mysterious figure," Dorothy told her, "and I've had very little luck tracing his background. He simply... appears about twenty or so years ago. He approached various figures both in the colonies and on earth, offering financial and political support."

"If he just appeared from nowhere, how could he do that?" Casval blinked.

"I don't know," Dorothy admitted, "but the money and influence were both there. He contacted me about providing influence to assist Romafeller Foundation interests, and he fully delivered on all his promises."

"And is he a physical threat?" Casval mused.

"Haven't seen him pilot a Mobile Suit," Dorothy said, "but he fenced against both Treis and Zechs. Beat them both."

Casval gulped. "That's... not good," she said quietly.

Dorothy herself frowned thoughtfully as something occured to her. "Wait a minute...," she said, "you never met Akio?"

"No, ma'am," Casval acknowledged.

"When you joined OZ you already had a duelist ring... where did you get it?" the somewhat perplexed woman asked.

Casval shrugged slightly. "A pink haired woman gave it to me..."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Utena?" Releena blinked as she and Juri lay in bed together. They had arranged to share a room due to 'crowding' but everyone pretty much knew what was up. Still, the illusion that they weren't involved was maintained, mostly for political reasons.

"She was one of the duelists at Ohtori academy," Juri told her, "she disappeared under mysterious circumstances."

"But there's been sightings," Releena noted.

"Yeah," Juri agreed as Releena snuggled in beside her. "Her and Anthy are apparently popping up again, tho why...?"

"You don't sound happy," Releena observed.

"I guess I don't know if I trust their agenda," Juri finally admitted. "If I understand correctly, they are also handing out duelist rings, and Anthy has appeared to talk to Treise of all people. What are they up to?" she wondered.

"Hmm," Releena agreed. "Could be they are just opposing Akio, but otherwise staying out of our fights?" she suggested.

"Maybe," Juri agreed, "but that's not very... noble, of them."

"I'd say neither are we, so...," Releena shrugged.

"Point," Juri agreed reluctantly.

"Now," Releena reached over to play with a lock of Juri's hair, "since I think we're both rested up, how about we get back to what we were doing before?"

Juri grinned as she pulled Releena on top of her, "Your wish is my command, my Queen."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Quatre paused as he manipulated the communications system. He was trying to put a call through to his family, but he was suddenly left wondering if that was such a good idea. If what Casval told him was true...

Quatre shook his head, deciding he had to know what had happened, one way or another. He pressed the final keys, then waited for the connection. A moment later the screen flickered to life and he started to say, "Father...?"

"No," the attractive older woman shook her head.

"Iria?" he recognized his older sister, despite her head being bandaged. She looked like she had been through a war. "What happened?" he asked.

"What do you THINK happened?" Iria snapped back at him, "The colony leaders decided to no longer support the opposition to OZ, especially once economic sanctions hit. Father was attacked by rioters and hospitalized."

"I...," Quatre started.

"Do NOT say you're sorry," Iria growled, "we both know you'd be lying."

"Well, yes," Quatre admitted. "Is he...?"

"Recovering," Iria answered grimly, "the mob didn't go that far, thankfully. And ironically OZ itself has moved in to restore order here."

"There's a pleasant thought," Quatre grumbled.

Iria leaned forward, "After the attack, Casval said she was going to find you. Did she?"

Quatre gestured to his broken nose.

Iria snickered softly.

"Thanks for the sympathy," Quatre sighed. He sat up as he seriously asked, "Do you need me to send help?"

Iria shook her head, "The situation is stable, I think. Besides, you have your own troubles."

"We do," Quatre agreed, "Please, take care of yourself and father."

"Will do," Iria nodded. She smiled wryly, "And take care of Casval. I know she's angry at you, but she's still family."

"I'll do my best," Quatre replied.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The attractive blond wore a colonist military uniform, her long hair braided back and her cap pulled down to hide her distinctive eyebrows. Dorothy Catalonia strode down the hall confidently but not arrogantly, the perfect way to sneak around. The trick to getting into places you shouldn't be in was to look like you belonged, and people didn't question it.

Finding the quarters she wanted had been the hardest part, interestingly enough. Hacking the databases was easy, but matching up a half remembered photo to a alias? THAT was hard. She reached out and keyed open the door, revealing darkness.

"Hello?" Dorothy asked as she stepped inside.

"Don't move," the voice ordered as the lights came up, a pistol pointed at her.

"Well, hello Anthy," Dorothy raised her hands, "it's been a long time."

THAT made the purple haired woman jerk a bit, but she calmly answered, "Who is that?"

The pink haired woman was also armed, tho not dressed. "Who are YOU," she demanded, "and why are you in our room?"

"You're not THIS stupid, Utena," Dorothy answered, "and I'm here to talk. Unless you'd like me to tell Juri you're skulking about?"

There was a moment of silence, then Utena raised her gun. "How did you find us?" she asked, waving for Anthy to holster her gun too.

"It wasn't that hard," Dorothy said, "I have a memory for faces, and the colony's files weren't hard to search."

"And how did you find our faces?" Anthy wondered.

"You've done a good job eliminating records of you," Dorothy conceded, "but I found a portrait of you and Akio. And there are still school records for Utena."

"Huh," Utena grunted, grabbing some clothes. "All right," she asked, "why are you here?"

"Because there are already three factions in this war," Dorothy said dryly, "and I just found out you two are also a factor. What's your agenda?"

To be continued...


	35. Chapter 35

Akio Ohtori no longer had a bruise where Lady Une had punched him. It had faded and was gone in hours, but the annoyance remained. 'How did she resist me?" the good looking man mused as he gazed out into space.

The massive Libra battlestation was drifting, as Akio waited to see what his enemies would do. Generally speaking it was on a Earth trajectory, and when he arrived he intended to use the main gun to rain death upon the world. All of humanity would pay for the glory that had been denied him. Yes, they would all pay...

"Lord Akio," Maya reported in calmly, the beautiful young woman waiting for him to notice her. You had to be patient with a great manlike this.

"Maya," Akio nodded. "The Mobile Dolls?" he asked.

"We've replaced the losses suffered in capturing Epyon," Maya calmly reported, "as well as made improvements based on the combat data we gained in the battle. The next set will be much more effective, my Lord."

"And Une?" Akio asked.

"Still refusing to eat or drink. Medical staff is considering sedating her and feeding her with a tube," Maya admitted.

Once again Akio was bemused by the dangerous Colonel Une. Not only had she resisted his control, she was determined to not give in to his forces at all. In the week since he had seized her, she had refused food and water, and had fought any nurses that entered her cell.

"Do it," Akio ordered, "I want her alive to see the forces she stood for destroyed."

"Yes, Lord Akio," Maya bowed and hurried off.

A few moments later Hikari, the head of his intelligence branch, was there to report. "The OZ forces and the colonies have allied, as we expected," Hikari said briskly.

Akio nodded, tho he WAS a little surprised it had happened so fast. He had expoected to be able to attack the colonies first, then after that battle have them plead for help from Earth. Again, things were not going as planned...

"Oz is having difficulties moving their forces into orbit. As we projected, they don't have enough lift capacity for their Mobile Suits," Hikari reported. She paused, "We could accellerate our timetable and hit them when they are organizing..."

"No, I want them organized and ready when we destroy them," Akio smiled.

"Sir," Hikari nodded and continued her briefing.

The truth, Akio admitted, was that the Libra simply wasn't fast enough to seize such a opportunity. The Libra was the best armored, most heavily armed battleship in Earth's history. Sadly it paid for it by being, relatively, fairly slow. Even firing the engines at full, it would be days before they were in position. And he didn't want to waste the fuel.

"... sadly we also have had no sightings of Anthy or Utena," Hikari finished.

That was annoying too. If there was anything he missed about being trapped in Ohtori Academy, it had been that he had seen and knew all, pretty much. Out here in the 'real world' he had to rely on spies and agents, who were much less effective.

Seeing the annoyed look on Akio's face Hikari quickly added, "I will instruct our people to step up their efforts, sir."

Akio nodded, "Thank you, Hikari." He looked thoughtful as he added, "Concentrate on the colonies, I think."

"The colonies, sir? But Anthy appeared on Earth," Hikari asked.

"True," Akio agreed, "but she appeared just to Treize, and dressed as the Rose Bride. I think it was merely a projection."

"You think they are with the Gundams?" Hikari wondered.

"Or at least the colony forces." Akio sighed softly, "They've been too effective against OZ... I think Anthy has been giving them some help."

"We will investigate, sir," Hikari vowed then quickly left.

Akio rose from his throne, leaving his office and walking out onto the Libra bridge. Much of the ship's functions were automated, but it still needed a skeleton crew. He nodded to the women and men manning the controls as he took the center seat.

The war was coming... and he was looking forward to it.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Because there are already three factions in this war," Dorothy Catalonia said with a remarkable calm, "and I just found out you two are also a factor. What's your agenda?"

Utena was rather impressed, honestly. Not many people could put all the pieces together as quickly as she had. She was a despicable human being, of course, but she was clever. She exchanged a glance with Anthy, who shrugged slightly. Clearly she didn't care how they handled Dorothy.

"My agenda is putting a spike in Akio's wheels. Other than that..." Utena shrugged.

Dorothy snorted in amusement. "Personal grudge?" she asked.

"Something like that," Utena agreed.

Utena HAD considered telling Dorothy about the whole 'End of the World' thing and the duels in Ohtori and so on, but frankly... Catalonia would have decided she was cracked. This wasn't a world where people believed in that stuff. Better to keep it simple.

"Why the duelling rings though?" Dorothy pressed.

"Games have rules," Anthy shrugged, "if we don't obey them, opposing Akio might become more difficult."

Dorothy gave her a look, but had to concede that point. "How did you two get involved in all this?" she asked.

Utena cut a lot out as she explained about hearing how Akio had destroyed Ohtori Academy, freeing himself. They became aware of his scheming soon afterwards, and reluctantly began moving to oppose him.

"So you started providing rings to those opposing Akio, as well as...?" Dorothy asked.

"Shifting support to the colonies where we could, that sort of thing,' Utena shrugged. She smirked, "We managed to screw with your faction, too, somewhat. Stopping your Mobile Doll factories on Earth was a pleasure."

Catalonia grunted in annoyance. "You know Libra is coming, correct?" she asked.

"With Akio, yes," Anthy nodded. "We'll do whatever we can to help," she vowed.

Dorothy tried to push for a firmer commitment, but neither woman would promise more than that. Finally she left in a huff, leaving the two in peace.

Anthy sighed as she hugged Utena. Taking comfort in her presence. "Should we leave the colony?" she asked quietly.

"You think she'll reveal our identities?" Utena mused.

"Well, we're not exactly friends...," Anthy noted wryly.

"She has no reason to reveal us," Utena pointed out, "and with Akio coming... they don't need the added distraction."

"I hope you're right, Utena-sama."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The colony detention center was not terribly prison like. Juri had been down there before, but this was the first time she had been called down here to help a prisoner.

"Hilde," Juri nodded to the brown haired young woman, "can I just go in to see them?"

"Go ahead. Just don't let them out, I understand the colony government is debating what to do," Hilde said wryly.

"Understood," Juri nodded.

The cell was pretty much open, with a bullet proof, shatter proof wall separating the prisoners and visitors. The two women in the cell, sitting together on the mattress, looked decidedly annoyed.

"Arisugawa," Utena smiled sheepishly. Utena had died her hair black and cut it shorter, and both she and Antrhy were in coveralls. Other than that, they remained unchanged from the last time Juri had seen them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Juri had to ask.

"Don't ask," Utena sighed. "Can you get us out of here?"

"I'll talk to Releena," Juri conceded, "but no promises. You did sneak on here under assumed names." She smiled wryly as she added, "Howard is vouching for you," she added, mentioning the head of Mobile Suit maintenance, "he says your an excellent tech."

"Thanks," Utena sighed.

"Who turned us in?" Anthy asked mildly.

"Dorothy Catalonia," Juri decided it was harmless to answer.

Anthy burst into laughter while Utena winced visibly.

"What?" Juri had to ask.

Anthy looked at Utena. "She has no reason to reveal us," she dryly quoted, "they don't need the distraction."

"Okay, okay, I was wrong..." Utena sighed.

Juri decided she wasn't even going to ask. "Is there anything I can send down to make this more comfortable?" she asked.

"Books?" Anthy answered hopefully.

"I'll see what I can do," Juri offered and headed out.

"Are they who you said they are?" Hilde asked as Juri left the jail.

"I think so. Keep them comfortable... I'm going to have to talk to various folks before we can release them," Juri sighed.

"Will do," Hilde agreed.

To be continued...


	36. Chapter 36

In the meeting room, Juri was trying to explain the weirdness that went on in Ohtori Academy, and how it related to Utena and Anthy. It wasn't going all that well.

"So... there were magic duelists and a contest, sword fights and flying castles?" Duo asked skeptically. "You're pulling my leg."

"It IS entirely possible they were drugging the water," Juri said dryly as she met his glance. She seemed surprisingly unbothered by the comments.

Trowa looked amused, Wu Fei grunted and Duo grinned. The other senior members of the colony leadership looked pained.

"But we all know Akio Ohtori is real. And that he supported OZ and their allies until he could seize Libra for himself. So...," Juri shrugged.

"It ultimately doesn't matter where Akio came from," Hilde pointed out reasonably, "he is clearly our enemy. And the enemy of our enemy is, at least, a possibly ally."

Releena smiled slightly, glad she hadn't had to suggest that. "Not that we should instantly accept them," she cautioned, "but I don't see how it helps us to incarcerate them."

"Also, consider who turned them in to us," Quatre noted flatly. He REALLY did not like Dorothy at all...

Everyone just kind of ignored the nasal wheese. At least the huge bandage on his face was gone.

"Howard vouches for Utena, at least. Good tech, always on time, never caused any trouble," Duo added with mild amusement.

"I understand Anthy is refusing to discuss her brother?" Trowa asked.

"Yup," Duo nodded, "not that I can blame her, considering we're holding her captive. And it's not like we have any leverage."

"We could threaten Utena," Trowa said calmly.

Everyone just LOOKED at him. "Yeah, that'll make Anthy our best friend forever," Duo noted wryly.

"It's an option," Trowa shrugged.

Wu Fei sighed. "We need to let colony leadership make the decision, but I would suggest we urge them to let them go. I suspect we'll need them eventually," he said seriously.

"Agreed," Juri nodded.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The Earth armies were mobilizing, but it was a annoyingly slow process. They had bowwored, rented and stollen all the lift capacity they could get, and hauled the mobile suits and carriers into orbit.

THEN they had to get everyone pointed in the right direction.

"How many different militaries are involved?" Noin asked as she and the colony delegation kept a eye on the chaos.

"There's OZ, the Specials, of which many usual troopers dislike. And Russia and the US have launched squads, whom don't get along well at all," Miliardo noted wryly.

"And Treize expects to get them all to get along and fight Libra?" Noin asked her ex wryly.

"Once Libra arrives I expect it to try to kill us all," Miliardo observed, "that tends to encorage cooperation."

"Ha." Noin smiled grimly.

It was moderately awkward working with your ex-boyfriend, even if he had kind of dumped you first. Especially since you were now dating a woman. Tho Miliardo had taken THAT remarkably well, as far as that went.

Who the hell congradulated their girlfriend on hooking up with a lady, anyway?!

"I recieved a private communication from Treize he asked to share with you. It concerns a old ally of ours," Miliardo noted.

"Oh?" Noin asked dubiously.

"It seems Colonel Une has completely disappeared," Miliardo said flatly.

"Colonel Une?" Noin echoed. "The same one who was piloting Epyon and blowing up colonies? THAT Colonel Une?"

"Indeed. I understand you don't personally care," Miliardo conceded, "but we should be worried what happened to Epyon."

Noin only took a moment to realize what he meant. "Akio?" she asked.

"If he has Epyon, he could successfully adapt it's technology to the Mobile Dolls," Miliardo said grimly.

Neither brought up what Akio might be doing to Une. The man had a reputation for decadence, and Miliardo at least was concerned for her.

"I'll pass it along to the colony leaders," Noin promised.

"Hay hello to my sister for me, as well," Miliardo added as he headed off to resume command of the White Fang.

Noin watched him go as she thought, 'Strange, STRANGE man...'

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Mobilizing the colony forces was nearly as chaotic as the Earth side. Part of the issue was getting the various colonies to admit they HAD the various military units. And, of course, putting aside various conflicts so they could get together reasonably peacefully.

Quatre, annoyingly, found most of those organizing details falling on him. "Why me...," he muttered tiredly.

"Quatre!" a happy sing song voice called.

"Hilde, don't tell me something else has happened?" he sighed.

Hilde laughed as she strode into his office. "But it's so fun seeing you like this," she shrugged.

"I hate you," Quatre sighed as she dropped more papers on his desk.

"I can live with that," Hilde noted cheerfully.

"So what is it NOW?" Quatre asked as he flipped through the latest updates.

"Dorothy wants permission to take her team out for training excercises before we engage Libra," Hilde smirked.

Quatre stopped and just looked at her a moment. "She DOES know there's a large number of colonist that want her dead, right?"

"Uh huh," Hilde nodded.

"I mean, NOIN has personally said she'd frag her given half a chance," Quatre sighed.

Hilde just shrugged.

Quatre ran a hand through his hair. "Well, we have a truce going and we're TECHNICALLY allies. We can't really say no," he admitted.

"So how do we avoid someone shooting her?" Hilde teased.

Quatre sighed. "Give her a big training area and forbid anyone else going there, I guess," he said wearilly.

"And hope no one snipes her," Hilde reminded him.

"Oh, THERE is a happy thought," he sighed.

"I like to serve," Hilde laughed.

"Let Dorothy know I'm making the arrangements. We'll TRY to have something ready for tomorrow," Quatre ordered.

AS Quatre returned to work he wondered if his sister has going to be training too. Hopefully she wouldn't show up and punch him again...

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Releena lead the way into the brig, with Juri behind her. Utena and Anthy looked up, curious but wary.

"Ladies, you are free to go," Releena smiled as Juri unlocked the doors.

"Only two days. That was faster than I expected actually," Anthy admitted.

Juri wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not, so she just said, "Glad to help."

Utena gave Anthy a scolding look then smiled at the two women. "Thank you very much," she said firmly as they left the cell.

"You're welcome," Releena smiled warmly. As they walled out of the detention center she continued, "May I ask what your plans are?"

"Think we're just going to take off?" Utena asked wryly.

"We haven't treated you in the most friendly way, even if you did sneak aboard under assumed names," Releena conceded willingly.

"We intend to remain until Akio is dealt with," Anthy said firmly. "No promises after that, though," she cautioned.

"Fair enough," Juri conceded. She gave Releena a meaningful look.

Releena looked amused at her girlfriend passing the buck. "If you don't mind, several of the lead pilots wanted to discuss Akio with you," she admitted.

"We were expecting that," Utena shrugged casually.

"There's really not much we can tell you," Anthy added. "Akio has a ego, he's tired of the long life he's lived, and at this point he just wants to use Libra to burn it all down..."

To be continued...


End file.
